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UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA  BULLETIN 


VOL.  VIII. 


JANUARY  1,  1914 


No.  1 


THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  FIRST  ANNUAL 

INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY   CONFERENCE 

t  > 

HELD  AT  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 
JANUARY  26  AND  27,  1914 


?'v: 


PUBLISHED  QUARTERLY  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 
RENO,  NEVADA 

Entered  in  the  Postoffice  at  Reno,  Nevada,  as  second-class  matter  under  the  Act  of  Congress, 

July  16,  1894 


FOREWORD 

The  first  State  Industrial  Safety  Conference  was  held  at 
the  University  of  Nevada  on  January  26th  and  27th,  1914, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Department  of  Mechanical  and  Elec- 
trical Engineering  of  the  University,  co-operating  with  the 
Nevada  Industrial  Commission.  The  primary  object  of  the 
meeting  was  to  bring  together  men  who  were  fundamentally 
interested  in  the  problems  of  conservation  of  human  life  and  to 
effect  a  permanent  organization  for  the  propagation  of  a  State- 
wide industrial  safety  movement.  The  papers,  talks  and  dis- 
cussions here  presented  will  give  some  adequate  idea  of  the 
splendid  public  spirit  shown  by  the  six  hundred  people  who 
participated  in  the  meetings.  The  keynote  sounded  was  for 
greater  co-operation  and  more  adequate  care  on  part  of  employer 
and  employee  to  secure  maximum  safety  of  life  and  limb,  and 
for  wider  and  better  opportunities  for  young  men  to  become 
skilled  and  careful  workmen.  The  University  of  Nevada 
hereby  makes  acknowledgment  of  the  active  support  of  the 
various  labor  organizations  of  the  State,  the  management  of  the 
railroads,  electric  power  and  mining  companies,  the  State  In- 
dustrial Commission,  and  numerous  individuals  whose  deep 
interest  and  assistance  made  the  conference  such  a  marked  suc- 
cess. The  University  is  also  indebted  to  the  Southern  Pacific 
Company  and  others  for  the  carefully  prepared  and  comprehen- 
sive exhibits  illustrating  ^plications  of  the  Safety  First 
Movement. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  3 


PROCEEDINGS     INDUSTRIAL     SAFETY     CONFERENCE 
GENERAL  MEETING 

JANUARY  26,  1914,  2  p.  M. 

MR.  P.  E.  RAYMOND 
President  University  of  Nevada  Engineers'  Club 

The  hour  for  convening  the  First  Industrial  Safety  Con- 
ference having  arrived,  I  take  pleasure  in  presenting  Mr.  Wil- 
liam E.  Wallace,  State  Industrial  Commissioner,  as  chairman 
of  this  afternoon's  meeting. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  CO-OPERATION 

BY 

WILLIAM  E.  WALLACE 
Commissioner  Nevada  Industrial  Commission 

When  the  invitation  was  extended  to  me  to  preside  over 
and  to  address  this  gathering,  my  first  impulse  was  to  decline, 
but  a  deeper  thought  made  it  seem  to  be  my  duty. 

I  have  learned  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  accident  pre- 
vention has  been  brought  to  a  high  rate  of  perfection.  Instead 
of  arguing  this  question  with  you,  I  would  be  much  more  pleased 
to  remain  silent  and  show  you  by  earnest  co-operation  that  the 
employers  and  employees  of  this  country  are  interested  in  Acci- 
dent Prevention  and  Workmen's  Compensation  for  industrial 
accidents. 

I  have  believed  and  still  believe  that  every  fair-minded  em- 
ployer and  every  fair-minded  employee  will  work  side  by  side, 
and  shoulder  to  shoulder,  in  the  interests  of  this  great  cause. 

Advocating  safety  devices,  wherever  they  can  be  applied, 
is  not  the  sole  means  of  promoting  safety.  The  accident  pre- 
vention spirit  is  the  most  important  factor. 

Without  co-operation  between  the  officers  and  members  of 
an  organization ;  without  the  co-operation  and  harmony  of  your- 
self, your  superintendents,  your  foremen  and  workmen,  it  is 
useless  to  attempt  a  campaign  for  safety. 

We  may  go  a  great  way  by  safeguarding  dangerous  mach- 
inery, and  secure  results,  but  we  must  get  down  deeper  into  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  the  employers  and  down  deeper  into  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  the  employees. 

The  spirit  of  co-operation  must  be  preached  early  and  late ; 
it  must  become,  as  it  were,  a  religion  for  the  employer  as  well 
as  the  employee. 

343039 


4  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

For  the  success  of  this  movement,  neither  rule  nor  regula- 
tion will  be  of  much  avail,  if  the  spirit  of  prevention  is  not 
there.  Whether  it  be  an  open  window,  or  an  additional  light, 
an  iron  gate  added,  or  a  kindly  word  of  warning  given,  it  is 
all  worth  while,  because  life  itself  is  being  conserved. 

This  meeting  which  is  called  to  take  action  on  Accident 
Prevention,  is  one  of  the  greatest  movements  of  the  twentieth 
century,  because  it  aims  to  save,  human  life.  The  Nevada 
Industrial  Insurance  Act  has  provided  for  the  maimed  and 
the  dependents  of  those  killed  in  the  industries  of  this  State,  but 
no  money  can  recall  or  make  atonement  for  the  life  taken. 

Accidents  will  happen,  but  many  can  be  prevented,  and 
every  one  that  is  prevented  means  less  suffering,  happier  homes, 
more  able-bodied  men  and  women,  happier  children,  and  fewer 
orphans  to  care  for.  With  practical  demonstration  of  one  life 
saved,  it  will  set  an  example  which  will  be  gladly  imitated  by 
others. 

In  saving  life  and  limb,  you  are  inaugurating  a  humane 
measure  and  adopting  the  best  business  method,  for  no  business 
is  worth  while  where  life  and  limb  are  not  protected. 

Honest,  broad-minded  men  need  not  agree  upon  every 
phase  of  religion  or  political  problems  in  order  to  work  and 
plan  together,  and  I  am  sure  that  I  speak  for  every  honest  and 
fair-minded  employee,  when  I  say  that  he  will  meet  the  em- 
ployer more  than  half  way  in  Accident  Prevention.  Let  us  put 
trust  and  confidence  in  each  other.  Co-operation  is  impossible 
as  long  as  mistrust  or  suspicion  is  not  overcome.  I  am  afraid 
there  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  both  to  place  the  blame  upon 
the  other  for  conditions  which  are  largely  not  the  fault  of  either. 

I  am  in  hopes  that  some  means  may  be  devised  by  which 
employers  and  employees  can  meet  more  often.  I  firmly  believe 
that  such  meetings  would  be  the  means  of  disposing  of  much  of 
the  present  distrust. 

It  is  not  only  necessary  that  we  learn  to  have  confidence 
in  each  other,  but  we  must  have  the  confidence  of  the  public. 
Public  confidence  can  only  be  secured  and  retained  by  opening 
your  minds  and  records  to  the  people.  You  must  be  willing  to 
tell  not  only  what  you  know,  but  you  must  invite  the  public  to 
examine  your  works  and  let  them  judge  from  your  own  motives 
and  actions. 

Let  us  all  co-operate  in  this  great  humane  measure- 
Accident  Prevention. 

I  now  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing  Mr.  J.  J.  Mullin, 
who  will  speak  on  the  Safety  First  movement  in  Nevada. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN 


THE  SAFETY  FIRST  MOVEMENT  IN  NEVADA 

BY 

JOHN  J.  MULLIN,  Secretary  Nevada  Industrial  Commission 


The  Safety  First  movement  in  Nevada  as  an  organized, 
concerted,  state-wide  movement,  is  to-day  but  a  subject  for  dis- 
cussion and  consideration.  It  is  a  movement  of  and  for  the 
future,  and  its  destinies  are  in  the  keeping  of  you  gentlemen 
here  assembled.  Your  decision,  your  verdict,  concerns  the 
lives  and  happiness  of  many  of  our  people  in  the  years  to  follow. 

The  importance  and  value  of  Safety  First  has  been  practic- 
ally demonstrated  in  our  State  by  individual  efforts.  Of  the 
pioneer  work  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company,  the  Nevada 
Consolidated  Copper  Company,  and  others,  you  will  be  informed 
by  gentlemen  far  more  competent  than  I,  who  will  follow.  Mr. 
Abbott  will  tell  you  of  the  work  on  the  Oregon  Short  Line,  Mr. 
Ingram  will  speak  of  Safety  First  on  the  Southern  Pacific,  and 
Mr.  Lindsay  Duncan  will  tell  of  the  splendid  work  of  the  Nevada 
Consolidated  Copper  Company  in  accident  prevention. 

Permit  me  to  preface  a  discussion  of  the  subject  assigned 
to  me  by  this  statement — that  for  this  paper  no  orginality  is 
claimed,  nor  should  original  thought  be  credited  to  it.  The 
ideas  herein  expressed  are  the  result  of  the  labors  and  experi- 
ence of  the  high-minded,  noble-hearted,  red-blooded  pioneers, 
who  have  blazed  the  trail  through  the  wilderness  of  industrial 
bloodshed,  with  its  toll  of  suffering,  distress,  sorrow  and  desti- 
tution, to  the  life-saving  haven  on  the  heights  of  Safety  First. 

Inasmuch  as  this  gathering  is  an  industrial  conference,  what- 
ever is  said  in  this  paper  will  refer  only  to  industrial  safety,  as 
distinguished  from  public  safety,  and  only  to  that  part  of  indus- 
trial safety  that  has  to  do  with  accident  prevention.  Sanita- 
tion and  hygiene  will  not  be  discussed  at  this  time. 

Safety  First  is  a  movement  to  conserve  human  life  by  re- 
ducing the  number  of  industrial  accidents ;  a  movement  dealing 
with  dangers  that  are  real,  and  needs  that  are  vital ;  a  movement 
aiming  to  secure  the  active,  individual  co-operation  of  every  em- 
ployee with  the  employer  in  the  prevention  of  accidents ;  a  move- 
ment which  realizes  and  seeks  to  awaken  all  to  the  realization 
that  the  safety  and  protection  of  human  life  is  of  far  greater 
importance  and  value  than  the  conservation  of  mere  inanimate 
things.  Perhaps  a  few  facts  will  illuminate  and  emphasize  the 
importance  and  necessity  of  this  movement. 

Statistics  are  at  the  best  dry  reading.  Statistics  dealing 
with  death  and  suffering  are  gruesome,  but  if  we  are  to  deal 
with  our  subject  intelligently,  however  distressing  these  statis- 
tics may  be,  they  must  be  considered. 


6  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

The  President  of  the  National  Association  of  Manufactur- 
ers states  the  loss  of  life  in  the  United  States  by  industrial  acci- 
dents to  be  40,000,  and  the  injuries  to  be  one  million  yearly. 
The  population  of  our  State  of  Nevada  is  estimated  to  be 
85,000.  In  other  words,  the  yearly  loss  of  life  by  industrial 
accidents  in  the  United  States  is  equivalent  to  almost  one-half 
of  the  population  of  this  State. 

Considering  the  importance  of  the  mining  industry  in  Ne- 
vada, a  study  of  the  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  for  the  year 
1912  is  interesting. 

The  Metal  Mine  Accident  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines 
for  the  year  1912  shows  the  following  fatalities : 

Number  Total  No.  per  1,000 

Employed  Number  Killed  of  Employed 

Metal  Mines    169,199  661  3.91 

Coal  Mines 722,622  2,360  3.27 

Quarries   113,105  213  1.88 


Total  1912  1,004,926  3,234  3.22 

Total  1911   1,005,281  3,602  3.58 

During  the  year  1912,  thirty-four  men  were  killed  in  the 
metal  mines  of  Nevada.  The  average  number  of  fatalities  per 
one  thousand  in  mining  in  this  State  (coal  mining  not  included) , 
based  on  an  average  of  300  working  days  per  year,  was  4.58. 
The  fatalities  in  Nevada  for  1912  were  as  follows: 

Copper  mines  18 

Gold,  silver  and  miscellaneous 16 


Total  : 34 

These  thirty-four  are  subdivided  as  follows: 

Underground   14 

Shaft   2 

Surface   18 

Nevada  shows  a  decrease  of  16  in  the  year  1912,  as  com- 
pared with  the  year  1911,  fifty  men  having  been  killed  in  the 
year  1911. 

The  Nevada  Industrial  Insurance  Act  became  effective  July 
1,  1913.  The  first  six  months'  experience  of  the  Nevada  Indus- 
trial Commission,  ending  December  31,  1913,  is  as  follows: 

Accidents  reported  698 

Accidents  incapacitating  injured  persons  less  than 

two  weeks  391 

Accidents  incapacitating  injured  persons  more  than 

two  weeks  223 

Fatalities  18 

Accidents  reported,  but  files  incomplete 66 


Total  698 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  7 

In  addition  to  the  fatal  cases  shown,  there  is  one  case  of 
permanent,  complete  disability;  and  one  case  of  permanent  dis- 
ability, the  extent  of  which  is  not  as  yet  determined. 

An  examination  of  the  eighteen  fatalities  reported  shows 
as  follows: 

Preventable    12 

Not  preventable  3 

Questionable   3 

Total  18 

Such  are  the  conditions  that  face  us.  The  question  natur- 
ally follows — Can  these  conditions  be  improved  and,  if  so,  by 
what  means? 

In  answer  to  this  question,  I  quote  from  Accident  Preven- 
tion and  Relief,  by  Messrs.  Schwedtman  and  Emery: 

"That  from  a  humane  viewpoint  accident  prevention  is  not 
only  desirable  but  absolutely  necessary  requires  no  argument; 
that  it  pays  as  a  business  proposition  can  be  demonstrated  from 
German  statistics  *  *  *  *  *. 

"Recognizing  that  it  is  of  prime  importance  to  prevent  in- 
jury, since  compensation  will  never  replace  a  father  who  has 
been  killed  or  make  up  for  lost  limbs,  State  officials  and  officers 
of  employers'  associations  have  concentrated  their  combined 
energies  upon  prevention,  and  wonderful  has  been  the  result. 
Scientific  accident  prevention  is  now  recognized  as  a  special 
and  important  branch  of  technical  engineering  *  *  *  *. 

"All  of  which  points  to  this  conclusion:  Accident  preven- 
tion is  not  only  possible,  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  but  it  is  a 
slow  process.  Whosoever  approaches  it  with  the  belief  that 
the  problem  can  be  solved  in  the  United  States  in  a  few  years, 
or  without  systematic,  intelligent,  national  movement — which 
must  have  the  co-operation  of  all  interested  forces  and  espec- 
ially the  full  backing  of  progressive  legislators  and  employers- 
is  over-confident  to  say  the  least." 

Doctor  William  H.  Tolman,  Director  of  the  American 
Museum  of  Safety,  speaking  of  the  safety  movement  in  America 
says: 

"When  the  safety  idea  was  first  brought  to  this  country  by 
the  present  Director  of  the  Museum,  it  met  with  a  discouraging 
lack  of  response  and  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  American  em- 
ployers. It  was  felt  that  this  attitude  was  due  solely  to  a  want 
of  information  on  the  subject  of  safety,  especially  its  economic 
aspects  *  *  *  *." 

I  think  I  can  understand  Doctor  Tolman's  reference  to  a 
"discouraging  lack  of  response"  by  an  experience  of  a  few  days 
ago.  I  asked  a  gentleman  to  attend  the  Conference,  explaining 
the  purpose  of  the  Safety  First  movement.  He  listened  cour- 
teously, even  patiently.  After  I  had  finished  my  plea,  he  said : 
"Possibly  your  plan  is  theoretically  sound,  but  it  is  too  fine,  too 
altruistic,  too  goody-goody  for  the  hurly-burly  of  the  struggle 


8  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

of  business  to-day.  You  advocate  ideal  conditions — the  ulti- 
mate. We  may  some  time  reach  such  conditions,  but  not  in 
your  time  or  mine,  it  can't  be  done." 

My  reply  was,  "My  dear  sir,  it  has  been  done,  it  is  being 
done  and  it  will  contiue  to  be  done.  We  may  be  apathetic  our- 
selves, but  others  will  go  forward  while  we  hesitate.  As  one 
writer  says,  'Things  are  moving  so  fast  now-a-days  that  people 
who  say  "It  cannot  be  done"  are  interrupted  by  some  one  doing 
it'. " 

It  gives  me  sincere  pleasure  to  add  that  the  gentleman 
referred  to  is  present  at  this  Conference. 

Regarding  co-operation  and  the  mutuality  of  the  relations 
of  employer  and  employee,  I  quote  from  an  address  delivered 
by  Honorable  George  B.  Cortelyou: 

"The  inevitable  tendency  of  the  future  is  toward  closer 
and  closer  relations  between  the  corporate  employer  and  em- 
ployee, wherein  the  principle  of  their  community  of  interest  will 
be  recognized  and  brought  to  its  full  development.  If  these  re- 
lations continue  on  right  lines,  there  will  be  none  of  the  bitter 
feeling  that  is  engendered  by  a  patronizing  superiority  on  the 
one  hand  and  of  sullen  aloofness  on  the  other ;  but  there  will  be 
a  mutual  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  welfare  of  each  is 
bound  up,  for  good  or  ill,  with  that  of  the  other.  The  employer 
will  perceive  that  the  highest  efficiency  of  the  employee  is  attain- 
ed only  when  he  is  amply  remunerated  for  his  labor,  when  the 
conditions  under  which  the  labor  is  performed  are  safe,  sani- 
tary and  wholesome,  and  when  the  mind  of  the  employee  is  freed 
as  far  as  possible  from  apprehension  as  to  what  will  happen  to 
his  family  in  case  of  his  death.  The  employee  will  perceive  that 
it  is  his  duty  to  give  his  employer  the  best  service  of  which  he 
is  capable  and  to  promote  his  interests  loyally  and  faithfully  as 
long  as  the  employment  lasts.  When  this  relationship  has  been 
fully  established,  when  there  is  this  frank  and  sympathetic  un- 
derstanding between  employer  and  employee,  then  we  shall  have 
not  only  a  greatly  improved  social  order,  but  we  shall  have  what 
is  becoming  more  and  more  a  necessity  under  the  stress  of 
modern  business  competition — a  greatly  increased  efficiency  of 
labor.  This  very  competition  is  making  for  such  a  result;  and 
there  can  devolve  upon  us  no  more  important  duty  than  to 
hasten  the  coming  of  the  day  when  such  relations  shall 
obtain." 

Mr.  C.  W.  Price,  Assistant  to  the  Wisconsin  Industrial 
Commission,  speaks  in  regard  to  the  necessity  of  co-operation 
as  follows : 

"  Every  man  who  works  in  a  factory,  in  the  midst  of  dan- 
gers, will  be  interested  in  the  following  facts: 

1.  Some  one  hundred  factories  in  the  United  States  have 
reduced  the  number  of  men  who  have  been  seriously  injured 
and  killed,  over  one-half  (in  some  plants  two-thirds)  during  the 
past  ten  years. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  9 

2.  The  experience  of  these  plants  has  demonstrated  the 
fact  that  only  one-third  of  the  reductions  which  were  made  were 
accomplished  by  the  use  of  safeguards,  while  two-thirds  of  the 
reductions  were  made  possible  by  the  co-operation  of  the 
workmen. 

3.  This  statement  is  borne  out  by  the  experience  of  5,000 
plants  in  Wisconsin,  in  which  7,900  were  injured  by  accident 
during  thirteen  months,  and  lost  over  seven  days  of  time.  The 
reports  of  these  accidents  sent  to  the  Industrial  Commission 
show  that  2,500  of  these  accidents  were  caused  by  machines  and 
machine  parts.  Many  of  these  accidents  could  have  been  pre- 
vened  by  safeguards.  But  5,400  accidents  happened  in  ways 
where  it  was  largely  impossible  to  use  guards,  but  where  the 
carefulness  of  the  men  alone  could  have  saved  them. 

" These  are  cold,  stubborn  facts,  and  every  man  should  face 
them  and  realize  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  accidents  are 
beyond  the  boss  to  prevent — beyond  the  power  of  money  to 
cover — it's  up  to  the  man." 

Safety  First  is  not  only  a  humane  movement,  but  a  busi- 
ness proposition  and  a  question  of  efficiency.  It  is  Good  Busi- 
ness. I  do  not  mean  by  this  a  mere  lower  cost  of  compensation 
insurance,  but  Good  Business  in  that  it  means  the  saving  of 
the  lives  of  men — our  greatest  asset  as  a  Nation.  If  saving  of 
equipment  and  economy  in  the  use  of  material  is  Good  Business, 
does  not  common  sense  tell  us  that  waste  of  life  and  mutilation 
of  human  beings  cannot  be  Good  Business?  Are  not  men  the 
most  important  equipment? 

Upon  the  subject  of  the  waste  of  life  and  and  the  appalling 
consequences,  Doctor  Edward  A.  Steiner  speaks  in  no  uncertain 
terms : 

"If  we  keep  on  transgressing  against  the  toiler,  his  wife 
and  children,  we  shall  have  the  harvest  which  other  nations  have 
already  garnered,  a  harvest  of  decay  and  death. 

"A  nation  recovers  from  the  effects  of  war  when  there  are 
decades  of  peace  and  yet  the  scars  remain ;  but  when  that  war  is 
ceaseless,  when  we  kill  and  hunt  and  maim  ceaselessly,  we  may 
never  recover.  National  immortality  depends  upon  how  we 
deal  with  the  present  generation.  National  wealth  never  in- 
creases with  ever-increasing  draft  upon  national  health. 

"We  are  as  responsible  for  the  next  generation  of  toilers  as 
we  are  for  our  children  and  grandchildren,  for  their  weal  and 
woe  depends  upon  the  weal  of  the  nation.  Labor  then  pro- 
duces wealth — how  much  of  it  is  produced  by  the  hand-worker, 
how  much  by  the  brainworker,  how  much  by  capital,  is  still  an 
economic  puzzle;  but  with  some  assurance  we  can  say  that  the 
fundamental  national  wealth  is  created  by  the  masses  of  men 
which  we  designate  by  the  word  labor.  We  know  that  wealth 
is  dependent,  not  only  upon  production,  but  upon  capacity  for 
consumption,  and  in  this  labor  has  an  acknowledged  supremacy 
by  the  very  force  of  numbers  and  increases  the  national  wealth 


10  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

by  its  growth — the  largest  portion  of  the  population  of  the  next 
generation  will  have  sprung  from  the  loins  and  womb  of  labor. 
"  We  know  that  'the  sins  of  the  father  are  visited  upon  the 
children',  and  the  sins  of  the  children  upon  many  generations  of 
men;  from  these  conditions  no  logic  can  release  us.  The  na- 
tion's asset  is  its  working  strength,  no  more  its  fighting 
strength;  the  man  behind  the  desk  and  the  man  behind  the 
machine,  and  not  the  man  behind  the  gun — decides  great  nation- 
al issues. 

"The  nation  which  leads  in  making  her  labor  effective, 
which  protects  her  toilers  best  against  accident,  disease  and  pov- 
erty, the  nation  which  thinks  of  her  men  first  before  she  thinks 
of  her  guns,  has  already  won  the  battle,  no  matter  whom  the 
fortunes  of  war  favor. 

"The  noblest  patriot  to-day  is  he  who  works  best  for  the 
commonwealth  and  our  common  wealth  is  our  common  toil. 

"No  more  impoverishing  things  may  happen  to  a  nation 
than  the  alienation  of  the  handworkers  from  the  brainworkers, 
and  of  both  from  the  love  of  one  another  and  of  their  country." 

The  prevention  of  accidents  and  injuries  by  all  possible 
means  is  a  personal  duty,  which  everyone  owes  not  to  himself 
alone  but  to  his  fellow  workmen. 

A  decision  by  Lord  Abinger  of  England  in  1837  in  the  case 
of  Priestly  vs.  Fowler,  is  considered  the  genesis  of  the  Fellow 
Servant  rule  of  law  and  doctrine.  Of  this  doctrine  a  discussion 
is  unnecessary.  Sufficient  to  say  that  in  practically  every  state 
having  a  Compensation  or  Industrial  Insurance  Act,  the  Fellow 
Servant  rule  of  law,  as  a  defense,  has  been  abrogated.  It  was 
the  cause  of  much  bitterness,  much  hardship,  and  gladly  did 
most  right-minded  men  see  it  suffer  a  legal  death.  Gladly  too 
do  right-minded  men  welcome  the  reincarnation  of  the  Fellow 
Servant  rule  in  Safety  First.  As  no  man  can  live  unto  himself 
and  no  organization  unto  itself,  so  does  Safety  First  under  the 
Fellow  Servant  rule  say  to  the  careless,  indifferent  man,  "Where 
is  thy  brother?  Thou  art  thy  brother's  keeper,  and  the  voice 
of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth  to  me  from  the  earth." 

In  Wisconsin,  there  is  a  gentleman  named  Mr.  W.  A. 
Fricke,  who  thinks  clearly  and  writes  entertainingly  on  the 
subject  of  Industrial  Insurance  and  Accident  Prevention.  He 
has  written  "An  Appeal  to  the  Workers",  to  which  I  feel  we  can 
with  profit  to  ourselves  give  earnest  consideration.  I  quote 
from  said  article: 

"The  help,  the  effort  and  the  co-operation  of  the  worker, 
individually  and  collectively,  is  an  essential  requirement  for  a 
proper  and  satisfactory  solution.  The  individual  worker,  who 
will  not  lend  his  aid  and  co-operation,  is  as  great  a  detriment  to 
the  solution  of  the  problem  as  the  indifferent  employer,  who 
seeks  compensation  insurance  to  'wash  his  hands'  from  per- 
sonal responsibility  to  his  men  and  endeavors  thereby  to  unload 
his  liabilities  upon  others.  The  indifferent,  the  careless,  and 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  11 

the  reckless  employee  is  not  only  a  menace  to  his  fellow  work- 
ers, but  he  is  a  danger  and  a  stumbling  block  in  the  enlargement 
and  broadening  of  the  Compensation  Act,  and  for  these  reasons 
should  be  eliminated  by  his  fellow  workers  with  the  same  zeal 
that  so  generally  actuates  their  efforts  for  a  betterment  of 
working  conditions. 

"Workingmen — individually  and  collectively — must  appre- 
ciate and  understand  that  they  constitute  a  very  important 
factor  in  the  proper  solution  of  the*se  questions.  They  cannot 
stand  idly  by  and  imagine  themselves  the  sole  beneficiaries  of 
the  Compensation  Law — they  are  not.  Society  as  a  whole  is 
interested;  the  children  still  unborn  have  claims  for  considera- 
tion, and  in  the  responsibility  for  a  proper  solution  and  settling 
these  questions  right,  there  can  be  no  evasion  or  shirking  on 
the  part  of  anyone,  least  of  all  the  workingman. 

"No  greater  mistake  can  be  made  than  to  imagine  that  the 
insurance  company  pays  the  compensation  and  carries  the  real 
burdens.  Insurance  Company'  is  merely  a  name  for  a  collect- 
ing and  distributing  agency  of  premiums.  The  employer  may 
turn  over  the  premium  for  his  policy  of  insurance,  but  that  pre- 
mium is  determined  by  the  number  of  accidents  experienced  and 
the  scale  of  compensation  to  be  paid.  So  far  as  the  Insurance 
Company  is  concerned,  it  is  a  cold,  hard  example  in  arithmetic. 
It  can  pay  for  a  large  number  of  accidents  and  a  large  amount 
and  a  long  period  of  time  just  as  readily  as  for  a  smaller  number 
of  accidents  with  smaller  amounts  of  compensation  for  a  short 
period,  for  the  very  simple  reason  that  it  must  collect  from  those 
who  are  insured  the  full  amount  it  costs.  In  the  first  instance, 
of  course,  it  is  the  employer  who  insures  who  pays  the  premium, 
but  whether  this  premium  is  larger  or  smaller  will  make  little 
difference  to  the  employer  when  once  the  compensation  principle 
has  become  a  fixed  factor  in  industry  and  business.  Every  em- 
ployer will  pass  on  the  compensation  premium  as  a  fixed  charge 
on  the  cost  of  production,  and  in  the  last  analysis  it  will  be  the 
consumer  who  will  pay  the  insurance  premium  just  as  he  now, 
always  has,  and  always  will  pay  for  everything  and  every  fac- 
tor— wages  included — that  makes  up  the  cost  of  the  article  pro- 
duced; and  here  again  the  worker  becomes  specially  interested. 
Workingmen  and  their  families  make  up  the  largest  number  of 
the  consumers  in  this  country,  and  as  a  consequence  the  cost 
of  compensation  will  in  a  larger  measure  be  passed  on  to  them 
in  the  purchase  price  of  everything  they  eat,  wear,  and  need. 
Then  too,  if  the  cost  of  compensation  becomes  too  large,  the 
possibility  of  broadening  and  enlarging  the  scope  of  the  com- 
pensation law  and  providing  more  adequate  compensation  be- 
comes less. 

"Then  the  effect  of  competition  is  another  consideration. 
If  the  manufacturer  is  in  competition  with  another  manufac- 
turer of  the  same  product  in  this  or  another  State,  the  cost  of 
compensation  insurance  may  become  a  serious  factor  in  the 


12  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

cost  of  production.  With  the  application  of  the  individual 
merit-rating  system  for  determining  the  premium  to  be  paid, 
whereunder  the  character  of  the  plant,  safeguarding,  and  the  co- 
operation of  the  workmen  make  for  an  appreciable  reduction  in 
the  premium  rate,  one  manufacturer  may  be  able  to  produce  his 
product  at  a  materially  lower  cost  because  of  this  fact  alone. 
If  cost  of  material  and  production  have  everywhere  been  held 
down  to  the  lowest  figure  possible  to  maintain  the  high  stand- 
ard of  the  product  there  remains  only  the  wages  paid  to  be  re- 
duced, or  the  inauguration  of  such  an  efficiency  in  accident  re- 
duction and  prevention,  to  reduce  the  cost  of  compensation 
(insurance  to  enable  competition)  on  an  equal  basis. 

"What  then  is  the  remedy  and  why  this  appeal  to  the 
Worker?  There  is  just  one  way  to  reduce  the  cost  of  compen- 
sation insurance  and  enable  the  broadening  of  the  law  for 
adequate  compensation,  and  that  is  by  a  reduction  in  the  num- 
ber of  industrial  accidents. 

"In  this  the  Worker  is  the  greatest  and  most  valuable  fac- 
tor. If  his  interest  and  co-operation  can  be  secured  for  Safety 
First,  the  battle  for  adequate  compensation  at  a  reasonable  cost 
to  the  consumer  is  won." 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  introduce  in  a  general  way, 
rather  than  discuss  in  detail,  the  subject  which  has.  brought  us 
together.  You  will  have  the  opportunity  of  hearing  ways, 
means,  and  methods  discussed  by  gentlemen  of  ability  and 
experience — in  both  of  which  qualities  I  am  woefully  deficient. 

Inasmuch  as  to-day  is  the  inauguration  of  Safety  First  as 
a  State-wide  movement  in  Nevada,  it  seems  fitting  and  proper 
to  conclude  this  paper  with  "A  Summons  Forward",  which  is 
taken  from  our  President's  Inaugural  address  of  March  4,  1913, 
—it  being  particularly  appropriate  for  this  day  and  Conference. 

"Our  life  contains  every  great  thing,  and  contains  it  in  rich 
abundance. 

"But  the  evil  has  come  with  the  good,  and  much  fine  gold 
has  been  corroded.  With  riches  has  come  inexcusable  waste. 
We  have  squandered  a  great  part  of  what  we  might  have  used, 
and  have  not  stopped  to  conserve  the  exceeding  bounty  of 
nature,  without  which  our  genius  for  enterprise  would  have 
been  worthless  and  impotent,  scorning  to  be  careful,  shamefully 
prodigal  as  well  as  admirably  efficient. 

"We  have  been  proud  of  our  industrial  achievements,  but 
we  have  hitherto  not  stopped  thoughtfully  enough  to  count  the 
human  cost,  the  cost  of  lives  snuffed  out,  of  energies  over-taxed 
and  broken,  the  fearful. physical  and  spiritual  cost  to  the  men 
and  women  and  children  upon  whom  the  dead  weight  and  burden 
of  it  all  has  fallen  pitilessly  the  years  through.  The  groans  and 
the  agony  of  it  all  had  not  yet  reached  our  ears,  the  solemn  mov- 
ing undertone  of  our  life,  coming  up  out  of  the  mines  and  fac- 
tories and  out  of  every  home  where  the  struggle  had  its  intimate 
and  familiar  seat.  With  the  great  government  went  many  deep 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  13 

secret  things  which  we  too  long  delayed  to  look  into  and  scrutin- 
ize with  candid,  fearless  eyes.  The  great  Government  we 
loved  has  too  often  been  made  use  of  for  private  and  selfish  pur- 
poses,, and  those  who  used  it  had  forgotten  the  people  H  *  *  . 

"We  know  our  task  to  be  no  mere  task  of  politics  but  a 
task  which  shall  search  through  and  through,  whether  we  be 
able  to  understand  our  time  and  the  need  of  our  people,  whether 
we  be  indeed  their  spokesmen  and  interpreters,  whether  we  have 
the  pure  heart  to  comprehend  and  the  rectified  will  to  choose 
our  high  course  of  action. 

'This  is  not  a  day  of  triumph;  it  is  a  day  of  dedication. 
Here  muster,  not  the  forces  of  party,  but  the  FORCES  OF  HU- 
MANITY; men's  hearts  wait  upon  us;  men's  lives  hang  in  the 
balance ;  men's  hopes  call  upon  us  to  say  what  we  will  do.  Who 
shall  live  up  to  the  great  trust?  Who  dares  fail  to  try?" 


MR.  WALLACE: 

I  now  call  upon  Mr.  L.  E.  Abbott,  a  veteran  in  the  railroad 
service,  to  speak  to  you  on  the  subject  of  "Safety  First  on  the 
Oregon  Short  Line". 


SAFETY  FIRST  ON  THE  OREGON  SHORT  LINE 

BY 

L.  E.  ABBOTT,  Safety  Commissioner,  o.  S.  L.  R.  R. 
Mr.  Chairman  and  Fellow  Students  and  Delegates: 

It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  respond  to  the  subject 
assigned  to  me  in  this  Industrial  Conference  planned  and 
brought  forth  by  the  faculty  of  a  university. 

The  Safety  First  organization  was  inaugurated  on  the 
Oregon  Short  Line  Railroad  July  1,  1912,  for  the  purpose  of 
eliminating  the  avoidable  accidents  and  injuries  to  men  in  the 
service. 

First  the  organization  was  made  up  of  a  Central  Committee 
consisting  of  the  general  officers  of  the  Oregon  Short  Line  Rail- 
road Company,  three  division  committees,  each  consisting  of 
the  superintendent  of  the  division  as  chairman,  and  other 
officers  and  employees  of  different  departments.  Under  this 
plan  the  work  proceeded  for  eleven  months,  and  then  the  man- 
agement decided  that  the  organization  was  not  full  enough  to 
carry  on  the  work  as  thoroughly  and  as  comprehensively  as 
desired.  It  became  apparent  to  our  Central  Committee  that  the 
success  of  the  Safety  First  movement  in  decreasing  the  avoid- 
able accidents  depended  to  a  very  large  extent  on  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  employees  and  that  a  larger  number  of  employees 
should  actively  engage  in  the  committee  work.  So,  on  the  1st 


14  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

of  June,  1913,  the  positon  of  Safety  Commissioner  was  created, 
and  immediately  thereafter  the  organization  was  enlarged  by 
establishing  sub-committees  all  along  the  line ;  one  at  each  shop, 
one  at  each  division,  besides  terminal  and  freight  committees. 
The  members  serve  on  each  committee  for  three  months,  and 
the  idea  is  to  eventually  have  all  the  employees  serve  as  commit- 
teemen. 

Since  the  fuller  organization,  the  work  has  been  followed 
up  more  vigorously.  Literature  pertaining  to  this  great  safety 
movement  has  been  distributed  freely  among  the  men.  Public 
meetings  have  been  held  in  which  the  gospel  of  Safety  First  has 
been  expounded  and  the  attitude  of  the  railroad  company  ex- 
plained. A  great  many  private  meetings,  or  meetings  where 
the  employees  alone  have  attended,  have  been  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  removing  all  doubts  in  their  minds  as  to  the  true  and 
humane  purpose  of  this  movement  and  also  to  secure  their  co- 
operation. Every  employee  on  the  Oregon  Short  Line  Railroad 
has  been  solicited  to  hand  in  to  the  sub-committees  or  the  divis- 
ion committees  suggestions  calling  attention  to  dangerous  con- 
ditions or  dangerous  methods.  These  suggestions  are  discussed 
freely  among  the  men  themselves  at  committee  meetings,  and 
when  they  conclude  that  the  suggestion  does  point  out  a  dan- 
gerous condition  or  method  it  is  referred  by  them  to  the  officer 
in  charge  of  the  division  where  the  thing  or  method  is  com- 
plained of,  with  request  that  action  be  taken  immediately  to 
apply  the  needed  remedy.  And  I  want  to  say  that  it  is  gratify- 
ing to  read  the  number  of  suggestions  that  have  been  offered  by 
the  men,  and  to  know  the  spirit  with  which  these  suggestions 
have  been  accepted  by  the  officers  of  the  company  and  acted 
upon.  Already  it  has  resulted  in  many  changes  in  the  shops, 
such  as  covering  gears,  countersinking  set  screws,  guarding 
saws,  procuring  lights  for  dark  places,  and  in  fact  one  class  of 
machine  called  the  "Square  Headed  Variety  Planer",  has  been 
dismantled  and  put  out  of  use.  A  number  of  valuable  sugges- 
tions have  been  offered  and  adopted  for  the  changing  of  certain 
equipment  and  the  installation  of  appliances  on  engines  and 
cars;  the  position  of  hand  rails  and  grab  irons  have  been 
changed — and  so  on  down  the  line  from  superintendents,  assist- 
ant superintendents,  trainmen  and  section  men,  suggestions  have 
been  offered  and  complied  with  to  better  the  physical  conditions 
on  our  road. 

The  following  is  the  report  of  accidents  on  our  road  during 
the  six  months  the  present  organization  has  been  in  effect: 

July  240. 
August  225. 
September   193. 
October  168. 
November  145. 
December  134, 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  15 

This  shows  that  in  the  last  six  months  we  have  made  a 
reduction  of  nearly  fifty  per  cent,  in  the  accidents.  I  call  your 
attention  to  this  pertinent  fact  too,  that  this  reduction  was  made 
in  accidents  while  the  number  of  employees  and  the  work  was 
increasing,  and  if  this  computation  had  been  made  on  the  man- 
hour  basis  it  would  have  been  much  greater  than  the  figures 
show. 

To  show  the  attitude  of  the  management  of  my  road  on  this 
worthy  work,  I  quote  from  some  of  the  literature  which  has  been 
issued  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  men.  In  an  address  de- 
livered by  Mr.  E.  M.  Bagley  to  the  railroad  employees  at  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Pocatello,  Idaho,  October  12,  1913,  he  said: 

"The  management  is  determined  that  this  Safety  campaign 
shall  not  fail.  It  is  to  be  given  precedence  over  all  other  mat- 
ters; in  fact  it  is  the  one  thing  that  is  to  have  its  right  of  way 
over  even  first-class  trains".  Mr.  W.  H.  Bancroft,  our  Vice- 
President  and  General  Manager,  in  a  publication,  stated: 

"To  the  Officers  and  Employees:  One  of  the  greatest  ac- 
complishments that  modern  industries  can  attain  is  the  elimina- 
tain  of  preventable  accidents.  This  can  be  accomplished  only 
by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  every  employee.  Eighty-five  per 
cent,  of  our  accidents  are  caused  by  carelessness  or  inattention 
of  the  men  themselves.  Figured  on  this  basis,  intelligent  cau- 
tion constantly  exercised  last  year  would  have  prevented  1,362 
accidents  and  saved  24  human  lives.  Hence  our  greatest  efforts 
should  be  directed  to  bring  home  to  all  of  the  employees  a  reali- 
zation of  this  fact,  that  their  assistance  and  co-operation  in  se- 
curing greater  efficiency  in  the  service  is  indispensable. 

"We  want  to  take  every  employee  and  workman  in  as  a 
partner,  arouse  his  interest  and  get  him  to  aid  in  the  prevention 
of  all  unnecessary  accidents  and  injuries.  Until  this  end  is 
reached  our  efforts  in  Safety  First  must  take  a  place  second  to 
none  other. 

"The  industrial  Golden  Rule,  'It  is  better  to  cause  a  delay 
than  to  cause  an  accident/  is  ours  and  I  insist  that  it  must  be 
adhered  to." 

The  management  has  not  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  by 
merely  reporting  and  correcting  conditions  in  machinery  all  the 
avoidable  accidents  will  not  be  eliminated.  Our  records  show  that 
the  biggest  element  in  the  cause  of  accidents  and  injuries  is  man 
himself.  Our  Safety  First  work  has  been  directed  with  this 
fact  ever  in  view,  and  we  have  herefore  been  working  for  the  cor- 
rection of  the  defective  conditions  in  this  human  machine.  We 
have  kept  uppermost  in  our  mind  what  some  of  our  great  men 
are  pleased  to  call  the  broader  spirit,  which  can  be  known  only 
by  observation  of  the  manner  in  which  the  employer,  the  em- 
ployee, and  the  public  go  at  the  solution  of  this  great  problem. 
Reciprocity,  mutuality  and  co-operation  are  combined  in  this 
spirit,  and  the  greatest  of  these  is  co-operation ;  and  the  result 
will  be,  when  supported  by  all  our  universities  and  institutions 


16  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

so  equipped  to  mould  public  opinion,  peace,  precision  and  pros- 
perity will  prevail  in  our  industries  and  hope  and  happiness  in 
our  homes. 

I  cannot  refrain  here  from  offering  my  congratulations  to 
the  University  of  Nevada  for  being  the  first  great  institution  of 
learning  in  our  inter-mountain  country,  and  I  believe  within 
our  whole  country,  to  catch  the  real  spirit  behind  this  move- 
ment and  commence  actively  to  promulgate  it,  as  this  meeting 
will  surely  do.  My  gratitude  to  the  men  who  have  discerned 
the  spirit  of  this  great  movement  and  brought  forth  this  gather- 
ing to  disseminate  it  is  unbounded. 


MR.  WALLACE: 

The  next  speaker  is  a  representative  of  the  railway  brother- 
hoods; I  present  Mr.  Frank  Ingram. 


SAFETY  FIRST  IN  PRACTICE 

BY 

FRANK  INGRAM,   Secretary  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 

Firemen 
Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : — 

The  organizations  of  railroad  employees  are  pleased  to  be 
represented  here  to-day,  for  the  subject  of  Industrial  Safety 
or  "Safety  First",  as  commonly  termed,  is  of  vital  importance  to 
them,  in  that  every  hazard  which  this  Conference  may  be  able 
to  remove  from  their  employments,  will  reflect  in  their  longer 
and  happier  sojourn  on  this  earth. 

If  the  mining  industry  and  that  of  railroading  could  be  stud- 
ied from  the  viewpoint  of  eliminating  all  or  a  lot  of  the  hazards 
which  could  be  eliminated  if  the  item  of  cost  did  not  have  to  be 
considered,  then,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  those  occupations  would 
be  so  safe  that  the  actuary  of  the  old-line  insurance  company 
(and  you  will  probably  concede  that  he  should  be  a  good  barom- 
eter of  insurance  risks)  would  be  falling  over  themselves  in 
getting  the  miners'  and  the  railroadmen's  premiums  at  a  fair 
rate. 

We  believe  that  one  of  these  hazards  has  been  relieved,  by 
the  last  Legislature,  through  the  passage  in  this  State  of  the 
Headlight  Law.  We  know  from  experience,  that  in  our  State, 
with  its  cloudbursts,  slides,  and  washouts,  that  a  better  illumina- 
tion of  the  roadbed  of  our  railroads  through  the  use  of  better 
headlights  is  imperative  if  the  railroad  men  are  not  to  be  sub- 
jected to  hazards  which  modern  electrical  engineers  have  over- 
come by  the  perfecting  of  the  modern  headlight.  A  short  time 
ago  enginemen  expected  to  take  their  locomotives  out  of  the 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  17 

roundhouse,  and  have  to  go  round  in  front  with  a  torch  to  see 
whether  the  headlight  was  burning  or  not ;  but,  Gentlemen,  those 
days  have  departed  in  company  with  the  pin  and  link  days  and  if 
they  never  come  back  it  will  be  soon  enough  for  the  railroad  man 
of  to-day,  for  they  each  in  turn  have  helped  to  lengthen  the 
terrible  toll  which  the  railroad  man  has  paid,  that  the  wheels 
of  progress  may  ever  turn  with  the  least  amount  of  friction. 

The  railroad  men  have  been  very  backward  in  requesting 
legislation,  but  they  certainly  favor  the  law  as  passed  at  the  last 
session  of  the  Nevada  Legislature,  and  wait  with  rosy  expecta- 
tions the  equipping  of  every  locomotive  in  our  State  with  a 
good  headlight,  such  as  is  now  in  use  in  passenger  service  on 
the  Southern  Pacific  and  on  all  locomotives  on  the  Western 
Pacific. 

I  am  not  an  electrical  engineer  nor  am  I  familiar  with  any 
method  of  measuring  the  electricity  of  those  headlights,  but  I 
can  say  that  if  the  question  of  inability  to  supply  the  amount 
mentioned  in  the  law  is  brought  forward  as  a  ground  for  not 
putting  headlights  of  any  better  illuminating  value  than  those 
at  present  in  use  on  freights,  the  object  of  this  legislation  has 
been  defeated,  and  it  will  seem  to  railroad  men  unwarrantedly 
so,  because  similar  laws,  that  is  of  fifteen  hundred  candle  power, 
have  been  passed  in  the  following  states :  Minnesota,  Montana, 
North  Carolina,  Oklahoma,  South  Dakota,  Texas,  Florida, 
Indiana,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Washington,  Colorado,  and 
North  Dakota,  and  this  headlight  now  in  use  on  the  Western 
Pacific  and  the  passenger  service  of  the  Southern  Pacific  has 
met  the  requirements  of  those  laws. 

In  striking  proof  of  the  need  of  better  headlights  in  this 
State  it  will  be  necessary  to  cite  but  three  instances  which  have 
come  to  my  attention  during  the  last  year,  in  two  of  which  the 
headlights  were  inadequate,  while  in  the  third  the  headlight 
was  of  sufficient  brilliancy  to  prevent  a  serious  accident.  The 
first  example  was  a  washout  near  Gillis,  last  summer,  in  which 
24's  engine  turned  over,  scalding  the  engineer  to  such  extent 
that  he  has  been  unable  to  resume  his  duties  since,  and  may 
never  be  able  to  again  fill  the  position  which  has  taken  years  of 
hard  work  to  acquire.  This  train  was  probably  making  25 
miles  per  hour,  and  engine  was  equipped  with  a  regular  gas 
headlight,  whose  brilliancy  was  probably  normal.  This  wash- 
out was  of  about  three  rail-lengths,  and  this  train  was  not  stop- 
ped before  engine  and  tender  turned  over.  It  is  reputed  in  rail- 
road circles  that  the  first  thing  this  engineer  said  when  he  got 
his  bearings  was  that  if  he  had  had  a  headlight  as  provided  in 
the  present  law  he  would  have  been  able  to  avoid  this  accident. 
This  is  one  of  the  cases  where  a  good  headlight  was  all  that  was 
needed  to  avoid  a  very  serious  hazard  of  accident,  which  might 
have  resulted  in  casualties. 

The  second  example  was  the  result  of  a  misunderstanding 
of  orders  describing  certain  conditions  of  track  that  was  being 


18  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

turned  over  for  operation  at  Rye  Patch,  in  which  a  freight  en- 
gine and  train  hit  a  string  of  cars  at  the  end  of  the  double  track, 
or  what  was  being  used  as  an  auxiliary  main  line.  Had  this 
engine  been  equipped  with  a  headlight  as  provided  in  the  pres- 
ent law,  much  damage  of  equipment  would  have  been  avoided, 
and  one  fireman  would  not  have  had  to  suffer  physical  anguish 
through  being  scalded. 

The  third  example  was  a  case  where  rocks  and  sand  had 
been  washed  over  the  track  for  a  hundred  yards  to  the  depth  of 
three  feet.  An  engineer  on  one  of  our  fast  passenger  runs, 
making  his  fifty  miles  per  hour,  swings  round  a  curve  and  sees 
an  unusual  condition  of  the  track.  He  applies  the  emergency 
brakes  and  stops  his  engine  with  the  pilot  in  the  mud.  Here 
the  headlight  certainly  saved  a  very  serious  accident  to  a  train 
which  was  making  the  maximum  speed  permitted,  while  in  the 
first  case  a  very  much  slower  train  was  not  stopped  until  serious 
damage  had  been  done.  Numerous  other  cases  could  be  cited 
in  which  the  headlight  has  played  an  important  part. 

From  the  viewpoint  of  a  member  of  the  train-service  bro- 
therhoods, this  Safety  First  movement  dates  to  the  time  long 
years  ago,  when  those  organizations  with  wonderful  persistence, 
presented  their  campaign  of  education  to  the  public  and  to  the 
National  and  State  legislators,  and  insisted  that  the  safety  of 
the  employees  of  common  carriers  and  the  public  should  be 
considered  first. 

It  was  not  a  great  while  ago  that  the  pin  and  link  were  in 
vogue,  and  t'was  with  considerable  reluctance  that  some  rail- 
roads adopted  the  automatic  coupler,  and  in  some  instances  not 
until  a  Federal  law  made  it  compulsory  that  such  a  coupler  be 
supplied,  and  yet  to-day  to  suggest  returning  to  the  pin  and 
link  would  hold  you  up  to  the  ridicule  of  all  the  railroad  man- 
agements. 

From  the  old  armstrong  hand  brake  to  the  present  E.  T. 
Equipment  has  been  a  long  jump,  and  was  the  result  of  the 
best  brains  on  air  brake  construction.  And  yet  the  inventor 
of  the  airbrake  had  very  rough  sledding,  and  his  proposition 
that  compressed  air  should  actuate  the  brake  equipment  in 
place  of  the  old-time  brakeman  met  with  small  encouragement. 
To-day  Federal  legislation  has  made  possible  rulings  from  the 
Inspection  Bureau  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  to 
the  effect  that  all  trains  must  have  at  least  85  per  cent,  of  the 
airbrakes  in  working  order  controlled  from  the  engine,  and  a 
corps  of  inspectors  insure  the  active  co-operation  of  the  car- 
riers in  maintaining  this  standard. 

The  need  of  standard  construction,  where  cars  are  to  be 
handled  in  interstate  commerce,  led  to  the  adoption  of  safety 
appliance  acts  and  standards  which  have  been  increased  and 
broadened  in  their  scope,  all  coming  under  the  Inspection  Bu- 
reau of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  19 

Owing  to  the  loss  sustained,  the  train  service  employees 
instructed  their  National  legislative  representatives  to  present 
to  Congress  a  suitable  bill  covering  the  inspection  of  locomotive 
boilers  and  their  appurtenances;  and  as  a  result  of  such  repre- 
sentation showing  the  need  of  such  a  law,  on  February  17,  1911, 
after  five  years  of  hard-fought  legislative  battles,  we  received 
the  splendid  boiler  inspection  law  now  in  force.  Extensions 
of  this  law  to  cover  other  parts  of  locomotives  will  probably 
be  asked  for  in  the  future,  for  experience  has  shown  that  where 
Federal  inspection  is  obtained,  better  equipment  results.  And 
yet  in  fairness  to  the  railroads  let  it  be  said  that  they  have  not 
stopped  at  what  might  have  fulfilled  the  law  but  have  inaugu- 
rated splendid  improvements  on  their  own  initiative. 

The  placing  of  these  safety  appliance  laws  under  the 
Inspection  Bureau  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  and 
the  thorough  investigation  of  all  acidents  has  probably  resulted 
in  the  splendid  record  which  is  being  attained  by  our  railroads 
of  to-day,  considering  the  enormous  tonnage  hauled.  And  yet, 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  the  train-service  brotherhoods  are  not 
through  with  their  program  of  betterment  in  safety  laws,  and 
as  our  future  welfare  suggests  the  need  of  more  safeguards 
through  legislation,  these  organziations  will  present  requests 
and  figures  why  these  needs  should  be  considered. 

At  the  present  tme  we  need  legislation  prescribing  standard 
clearance  of  all  obstructions  both  above  and  to  the  sides  of  each 
track  in  operation.  During  the  years  1910,  1911  and  1912, 
4741  employees  were  either  killed  or  injured  by  being  hit  by 
these  obstructions,  and  unless  these  are  removed  but  little  im- 
provement can  be  made  here.  It  will  probably  cost  money,  and 
lots  of  it  to  remove  some  of  these  death  traps,  but  until  they  are 
removed  this  terrible  number  of  railroad  men  will  get  their 
register  checks  from  Saint  Peter  every  year.  When  231  Ameri- 
can marines  were  killed  by  the  destruction  of  the  ill-fated 
Maine  in  Havana  Bay,  the  United  States  declared  war,  the  first 
cost  of  which  was  about  $300,000,000,  and  which  has  entailed 
a  total  outlay  of  $1,000,000,000;  it  is  estimated  that  the  removal 
of  obstructions,  thus  giving  a  clearance  from  the  rail  of  over- 
head structures  of  twenty  feet,  and  seven  feet  from  centers  to 
side  obstructions,  tracks  to  be  12  feet  6  inches  apart  from  cen- 
ters, would  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  initial  cost  of  the 
Spanish-American  War,  and  would  save  industrial  lives  of 
twenty  times  as  many  as  caused  this  war.  Is  the  life  of  a 
marine  in  the  service  of  the  country  of  more  value  than  the 
lives  of  these  industrials,  whose  constructive  endeavors  have 
materially  assisted  in  making  this  country  worth  fighting  for? 

Another  cause  of  fatality  to  railroad  men,  which  possibly 
some  of  the  members  of  this  Engineers'  Club  may  remedy,  is 
due  to  crown  sheet  failures  caused  by  low  water.  The  report 
of  the  Chief  Boiler  Inspector  of  the  Division  of  Locomotive 
Boiler  Inspection  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  for 


20  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

the  year  1912  (I  have  not  seen  the  figures  for  1913),  show  that 
222  were  either  killed  or  injured  from  boiler  explosions  due  to 
low  water.  Of  accidents  on  locomotives  or  their  appurtenances 
which  resulted  in  death  or  injury  to  their  crews,  64  per  cent, 
were  caused  through  boiler  explosions.  Experience  has  shown 
us  that  the  soft  plug  is  inadequate,  and  this  experience,  Ladies 
and  Gentlemen,  has  come  pretty  close  to  home,  for  we  have  two 
of  our  members  laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery  whom  the  soft 
plug  did  not  pr.otect.  On  other  occasions  the  soft  plug  has  let 
go  with  a  full  glass  of  water.  We  believe  that  an  appliance 
which  will  stand  service  tests  under  different  conditions,  especi- 
ally in  bad  water  districts,  and  which  will,  first,  sound  an 
alarm,  second,  put  out  the  fire,  and  third,  register  the  event, 
would  be  a  godsend  to  both  the  employees  and  the  railroad  com- 
panies, in  the  first  place  saving  those  222  from  death  and  in- 
jury, and  in  the  second  place  saving  the  loss  of  thousands  of 
dollars  of  railroad  property.  This  is  a  proposition  which  we 
submit  to  the  consideration  of  the  Engineers'  Club  of  this  Uni- 
versity, and  if  they  are  able  to  perfect  an  appliance  which  will 
meet  the  service  requirements,  I  feel  certain  that  the  adoption 
of  such  device  will  only  be  a  matter  of  a  short  time. 

Owing  to  the  long  work-periods  and  the  resultant  unsafe 
conditions  which  they  brought,  the  train-service  organizations 
drafted  an  Hours-of-Service  Law,  which  prohibits  the  employ- 
ment of  any  trainman  for  longer  than  sixteen  hours  in  any 
twenty-four-hour  period.  This  will  probably  be  reduced  to 
fourteen  hours  in  the  future. 

To  insure  further  protection  to  the  traveling  public  and 
themselves,  they  have  in  numerous  states  secured  Full  Crew 
Laws,  which  provide  adequate  train  crews,  and  insures  the  em- 
ployment of  men  of  sufficient  experience  to  properly  perform 
their  duties. 

Safety  First  has  long  been  in  practice  on  railroads,  as  ref- 
erence to  Rule  106  of  the  Standard  Rules  will  show :  It  reads : 
"In  all  cases  of  doubt  or  uncertainty,  the  safe  course  must  be 
pursued  and  no  risks  run."  That  was  one  of  the  rules  which  I 
learned  about  eleven  years  ago,  and  I  presume  that  Johnnie 
Smith  read  something  to  that  effect  about  forty-five  years  ago. 

But  the  valuable  feature  of  the  present  movement  from  a 
railroad  man's  viewpoint,  is  that  through  the  publicity  given  the 
mistakes  of  others  and  the  studying  of  those  mistakes,  and  the 
studying  of  all  hazards  before  the  accident,  the  accident  is  often 
prevented.  And  this  studying  of  those  hazards  is  made  pos- 
sible through  the  monthly  Safety  meetings  which  have  been  held 
for  a  number  of  years  on  each  division.  One  employee  from 
each  vocation  meets  with  others  and  discusses  any  and  all  of 
the  accidents  of  the  month,  and  any  and  all  hazards  which  they 
have  collected  during  the  month  for  discussion  at  this  meeting. 
The  decisions  or  recommendations  of  this  safety  committee  are 
then  passed  up  to  the  District  Safety  Committee,  and  if  any 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  21 

great  amount  of  money  is  involved  in  making  the  changes,  from 
them  in  turn  to  the  management,  where  they  are  carefully 
scrutinized,  to  see  that  the  proposed  improvement  or  remedy 
justifies  the  expenditure. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  the  members  of  the  railroad  organi- 
zations look  forward  with  expectations  to  the  result  of  this  meet- 
ing in  hopes  that  this  Conference  will  suggest  new  methods  of 
reducing  the  unnecessary  accidents  to  a  minimum. 

MR.  WALLACE: 

The  papers  immediately  following  deal  largely  with  the 
subject  of  Industrial  Education,  which  should  be  the  founda- 
tion stone  of  the  Industrial  Safety  movement.  I  will  call  on 
Professor  J.  G.  Scrugham,  a  specialist  on  the  subject,  to  act  as 
Chairman  during  their  presentation. 


MR.  SCRUGHAM: 

Under  the  leadership  of  President  Stubbs,  the  University 
of  Nevada  has  long  been  active  in  the  promotion  of  Industrial 
Education.  Nearly  ten  years  ago  we  established  an  extension 
school  for  mechanics  at  Sparks  in  co-operation  with  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Company.  This  was  one  of  the  first  of  its  kind  in 
the  West,  if  not  in  the  country.  Shortly  thereafter  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Company  established  a  remarkable  student  course  in 
general  railroading  which  has  attracted  most  wide-spread  at- 
tention. I  will  call  upon  Mr.  Norman  Collyer,  the  man  in  direct 
charge  of  the  course,  to  tell  us  of  its  aims  and  results. 


THE  SOUTHERN  PACIFIC  STUDENT  COURSE 

BY 

NORMAN  COLLYER 
Chief  Clerk  to  President,  Southern  Pacific  Company 

It  is  fitting  that  at  a  Conference  of  this  educational  char- 
acter we  should  consider  the  Southern  Pacific  Student  Course  in 
Railroading.  The  course  is  now  in  its  tenth  year,  and  I  shall 
endeavor  to  give  a  frank  review  of  its  aims,  operation,  and  its 
results. 

In  the  ringing  article  by  Mr.  George  M.  Basford  in  the  last 
Railway  Age  Gazette,  I  was  struck  with  the  following  passages : 

"Perfection  of  performance  is  not  accidental;  it  is  the  re- 
sult of  unremitting  training,  first  individual  and  then  collective 
******.  If  some  years  of  study  of  the  personnel  of 
railroads  has  guided  my  thought  correctly,  railroads  will  find 
themslves  unable  properly  to  cope  with  their  problems  if  they 
do  not  seriously  and  consistently  inaugurate  systems  of  train- 
ing." 


22  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Prior  to  1900,  the  special  apprentice  had  been  confined  al- 
most exclusively  to  one  department.  On  the  Great  Northern, 
President  Hill  had  tried  the  experiment  of  affording  certain 
young  men — one  of  them  his  personal  stenographer — the 
oppportunity  of  broadening  their  field  of  vision  by  work  in  sev- 
eral different  branches  of  the  service.  These  and  other  similar 
instances  were  the  outcome  as  a  rule,  of  some  personal  relation- 
ship with  the  management.  To  my  knowledge,  the  Southern 
Pacific  Company  was  the  first  railroad  in  the  United  States  to 
adopt  an  orderly,  systematic  scheme  for  the  development  of 
executive  talent  through  the  medium  of  apprenticeship.  The 
idea  was  conceived  and  put  into  effect  by  Julius  Kruttschnitt 
while  Vice-President  and  General  Manager  of  the  Company  at- 
San  Francisco.  It  was  first  crystallized  into  syllabus  form  un- 
der the  administration  of  Vice-President  E.  E.  Calvin.  In  1909 
it  was  broadened  and  strengthened,  and  January  1,  1913,  by 
direction  of  President  Sproule,  it  was  extended  to  embrace  the 
Traffic  and  Accounting  as  well  as  the  operating  Departments. 

The  aim  of  our  student  course  is  to  give  to  young  men  in 
the  employ  of  the  company  an  opportunity  to  pass  through  dif- 
ferent departments  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  such  co-ordinate 
knowledge  of  the  entire  railroad  as  will  fit  them  better  to  assume 
positions  of  responsibility.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  laboratory  course, 
wherein  the  student  performs  the  actual  work  of  the  department 
to  which  he  may  be  assigned,  supplemented  by  a  parallel  course 
of  reading  in  text  books  and  railway  publications  and  periodicals. 
Much  thought  has  been  given  to  the  arrangement  of  the  different 
periods,  and  further  changes  are  under  consideration.  Briefly, 
the  procedure  is  as  follows:  Upon  appointment,  the  student  is 
first  placed  at  a  station  of  medium  size  for  a  term  of  six 
months.  This  is  because  the  station  agent  handles  both  the  be- 
ginning and  the  end  of  transportation.  The  student  is  expected 
to  perform  such  duties  as  are  assigned  to  him  by  the  agent,  and 
the  agent  is  expected  to  afford  him  such  diversified  experience 
as  will  give  him  an  all-round  knowledge  of  station  work,  includ- 
ing ticket  office,  warehouse,  baggage  room,  yard,  and  the  solici- 
tation of  business.  Being  an  extra  man,  the  student  is  ndl 
bound  down  to  routine,  but  is  permitted  to  distribute  his  time  in 
such  a  way  as  to  treat  each  feature  with  equal  thoroughness. 
Next,  the  student  is  assigned  consecutively  to  Maintenance  of 
Way,  the  office  of  the  Superintendent  of  Transportation,  Motive 
Power,  Train  Service,  Accounting  Department,  and  Tariff  Bu- 
reau, spending  three  months  in  each.  This  completes  his  second 
year  as  a  student,  and  he  should  now  have  a  working  knowledge 
of  the  several  departments  of  the  railroad  and  their  mutual  in- 
terdependence. At  the  student's  option  (subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  management)  he  next  elects  to  specialize  in  either  Opera- 
tion and  Maintenance,  Passenger  and  Freight  Traffic,  or  Ac- 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  23 

counting.     If  he  chooses  Operation  and  Maintenance,  his  pro- 
gress is  as  follows 

Maintenance  of  Way 4  months 

Motive   Power 3  months 

Signals    2  months 

Stores  Department  2  months 

General   Manager's   Office 2  months 

Student  with  Trainmaster  5  months 

This  completes  42  months'  service  as  a  student,  which  is  the 
length  of  the  course.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  operating  student 
has  gone  more  deeply  into  maintenance,  motive  power,  arid 
transportation,  and  has  also  taken  up  several  additional  fea- 
tures. After  his  graduation  he  is  given  such  special  experi- 
ence as  is  needed  to  fit  him  for  a  regular  position;  thereafter 
everything  depends  upon  himself. 

The  student  specializing  in  Passenger  and  Freight  Traffic 
spends  his  last  eighteen  months  as  follows: 

Passenger  Report  Clerk  at  Gateway 

Junction  Point  3  months 

Passenger  Ticket  Office  5  months 

Student  Solicitor  in  Large  City.. 4  months 

Student  District  Freight  and  Pas- 
senger Agent  6  months 

If  he  specializes  in  Accounting,  the  distribution  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

Auditor   Freight   Accounts... 3  months 

Auditor   Passenger   Accounts 3  months 

Division   Accounting   Bureau 6  months 

Auditor   of   Disbursements 3  months 

General 3  months 

In  either  case,  after  the  final  polishing  off,  he  is  put  in  the 
water  and  told  to  swim,  and  he  must  either  swim  or  sink. 

One  of  the  best  means  of  perfecting  a  plan  is  through  the 
honest  criticism  of  those  competent  to  criticize.  I  have  set 
down  the  various  criticisms  of  the  student  course;  as  I  have 
heard  them  expressed,  and  after  reading  them  to  you  I  will  try 
to  answer  them,  as  well  as  I  can : 

1.  It  is  not  practical. 

2.  It  is  a  waste  of  the  Company's  money. 

3.  Student's    work    virtually    without  supervision,  hence 

fall  into  idle  and  indifferent  habits. 

4.  It  is  necessary  to  have  "pull"  in  order  to  become  a 

student. 

5.  It  is  too  long. 

6.  It  is  impossible  to  learn  anything  about  the     *     *     * 

department  in  three  months.  (Insert  name  of  de- 
partment in  which  the  critic  happens  to  be  employ- 
ed). 


24  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

7.  It  is  a  source  of  discouragement  to  the  rank  and  file  of 

employees. 

8.  Graduates  of  this  course  have  not  made  good,  therefore 

the  course  is  a  failure. 

Criticism  other  than  this  usually  takes  the  form  of  ridicule, 
which  is  unworthy  of  consideration  in  a  serious  discussion. 

1.     It  is  not  practical. 

This  is  the  objection  generally  expressed  by  those  not  in 
sympathy  with  the  course.  It  is  a  phrase  easily  said,  and 
which  may  be  construed  in  a  variety  of  ways.  I  understand  it 
to  mean  that  the  course  gives  the  student  a  smattering  of  knowl- 
edge which  is  not  available  for  his  practical  every-day  uses; 
that  what  is  wanted  is  not  "Jack  of  all  trades  and  master  of 
none,"  but  a  trained  specialist  in  some  particular  line  of  work. 
The  weakness  of  this  theory  is  disclosed  when  the  specialist  is 
promoted  to  a  position  of  greater  authority  in  which  he  is  called 
upon  to  supervise  both  the  familiar  and  unfamiliar  phases  of 
the  business.  He  not  only  lacks  versatility,  but  almost  invari- 
ably he  gives  undue  prominence  to  the  work  in  which  he  has 
been  trained  and  discredits  the  importance  of  those  functions 
with  which  he  is  not  familiar.  Ask  any  officer  whether  his 
department  is  appreciated  and  see  what  he  says.  This  hits  the 
Mechanical  Department  along  with  the  rest.  As  Mr.  Basford 
says: 

"Mechanical  and  operating  officials  have  everything  in 
common  as  a  problem.  Each  knows  much  that  the  other  needs 
to  know.  They  are  too  far  apart.  I  believe  they  may  be 
brought  together  through  training  which  will  produce  railroad 
men  and  not  department  men." 

While  it  is  true  that  our  "laboratory  course"  is  not  and  can 
not  to  be  carried  to  the  stage  of  highly  trained  routine  efficiency 
in  every  detail,  nevertheless  many  of  the  students  have  absorbed 
and  retained  a  surprising  amount  of  detailed  knowledge  which 
they  have  afterwards  used  with  disturbing  success  in  penetrat- 
ing the  excuses  passed  across  the  departmental  boundary  line. 
Better  still,  they  have  helped  to  make  their  own  departments 
more  valuable  to  other  departments  and  hence  to  the  organiza- 
tion as  a  whole.  This  is  surely  making  a  practical  application 
of  special  knowledge. 

Singularly  enough,  one  of  the  bases  for  the  charge  that  the 
student  course  is  not  practical  is  the  fact  that  the  sudents  are 
required  to  follow  a  course  of  reading.  There  seems  to  be  an 
impression  that  the  student  goes  about  his  work  with  a  refer- 
ence volume  always  in  his  hand — very  likely  written  by  an  im- 
practical author.  In  answering  I  may  say  that  our  bibliography 
has  been  selected  with  the  utmost  care.  I  cannot  conceive  of 
any  railroad  man  who  would  not  be  helped  by  reading  such 
books  as  "Freight  Terminals  and  Trains",  by  J.  A.  Droege, 
General  Superintendent  of  the  New  Haven,  or  "The  American 
Transportation  Question",  by  Samuel  0.  Dunn,  Editor  of  the 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  25 

Railway  Age  Gazette,  or  "The  Letters  from  an  Old  Railroad 
Official  to  His  Son",  by  Major  Hine,  until  recently  Vice-President 
and  General  Manager  of  the  Arizona  Eastern.  Further,  the 
course  plainly  states  that  all  reading  must  be  done  outside  of 
working  hours. 

It  seems  to  me  that  every  officer  and  employee  with  whom 
the  students  come  in  contact  has  it  within  his  power  to  help 
make  the  course  practical.  If  there  is  a  more  practical  way  of 
learning  how  to  do  a  thing  than  by  doing  it,  I  have  yet  to  learn 
what  it  is.  Remember  that  a  student's  sojourn  with  you  is  lim- 
ited. Cram  him  with  information — he  will  absorb  it  like  a 
sponge!  Load  him  with  work — he  will  "eat  it  up"!  Give  him 
all  the  responsibility  you  dare — it  strengthens  mm!  If  you 
don't  believe  the  course  is  practical,  help  to  make  it  practical ! 

2.  It  is  waste  of  the  Company's  money. 

Students  are  paid  $75  per  month  to  begin  with,  increasing 
by  five  dollar  increments  until  the  student  is  receiving  $100  a 
month  during  the  final  period ;  hence,  the  total  wage  investment 
in  each  student  approximates  $3600.  Formerly  the  students 
were  carried  on  a  special  payroll  in  the  general  offices;  now,  on 
the  theory  that  all  of  the  employees  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
any  department  should  appear  on  the  payroll  of  that  depart- 
ment, they  are  carried  on  the  payrolls  of  the  department  to 
which  they  are  assigned.  This  expense,  however,  is  not  charged 
against  the  department,  but  is  transferred  by  the  Auditor  to 
"General  Expenses".  The  head  of  the  department,  therefore, 
is  not  responsible  for  the  cost  of  the  student;  nevertheless  in 
times  like  these,  when  he  is  cut  down  to  the  very  limit,  it  looks 
to  him  like  a  rather  expensive  and  hazardous  investment  which 
the  Company  could  'forego  better  than  it  could  some  other  things 
he  might  mention.  The  Company's  money,  however,  is  the 
property  of  the  stockholders.  If  they  are  not  satisfied  with  the 
way  it  is  being  spent,  it  is  their  privilege  to  complain  to  their 
Board  of  Directors;  and  it  is  the  privilege  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors, through  its  Chairman,  to  take  the  matter  up  with  the 
President.  As  the  student  plan  has  the  approbation  of  both 
the  President  and  the  Chairman,  I  do  not  think  we  need  inquire 
further. 

3.  Students  work  virtually  without  supervision,  hence  fall 
into  idle  and  indifferent  habits. 

The  officer  in  charge  of  students  is  responsible  for  the  stu- 
dent corps.  He  assigns  them  to  the  divisions  or  departments 
where  they  are  to  be  employed,  receives  from  each  of  them  a 
monthly  report  on  the  work  and  reading  done,  and  gives  them 
occasional  examinations  on  reading.  Upon  the  completion  of  a 
period  by  a  student  a  confidential  report  is  sent  in  by  the  head 
of  the  department — all  of  which  becomes  a  matter  of  record  and 
enables  the  officers  in  charge  of  students  to  answer  questions  on 
a  student's  progress  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy.  This  is  but 
long-range  supervision,  however;  immediate  and  active  super- 


26  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

vision  rests  with  the  head  of  the  department  wherein  the  stu- 
dent is  employed,  and  here  there  is  decidedly  room  for  improve- 
ment. 

The  first  step  in  any  form  of  supervision  is  to  let  men 
clearly  understand  what  is  required  of  them ;  the  next  step  is  to 
see  that  they  do  it.  That  the  students  are  following  the  intent 
of  the  course  and  getting  the  experience  they  set  out  to  get  is 
perhaps  more  creditable  to  the  students  than  it  is  to  the  depart- 
ments. 

4.  It  is  necessary  to  have  "pull"  in  order  to  become  a 
student. 

This  charge  is  contrary  to  fact.  Not  since  the  inception  of 
this  work  has  influence  or  "pull"  been  able  to  govern  in  the 
slightest  degree  appointment  to  a  studentship.  Since  a  mistake 
made  at  the  beginning  would  be  perpetuated  and  become  a  dis- 
credit to  the  Company  and  the  student  system,  we  are  exceed- 
ingly cautious  in  our  appointments.  First  of  all,  the  applicant 
must  be  an  employee  of  the  Company;  not  only  for  the  reason 
that  any  other  policy  would  be  an  injustice  to  our  employees,  but 
also  because  we  thereby  get  a  better  line  on  the  applicant.  To 
be  mature  enough  to  understand  and  appreciate  his  opportuni- 
ties, he  must  be  over  21 ;  and  to  be  young  enough  to  have  retain- 
ed his  enthusiasm  and  freshness  of  mind,  he  must  be  under  30. 
He  must  be  unmarried,  and  remain  so  as  a  student,  because  we 
place  our  school  on  as  high  a  plane  as  those  of  Annapolis  and 
West  Point,  where  the  same  rule  prevails.  The  many  necessary 
expenses  of  the  course,  the  numerous  changes  from  point  to 
point,  and  the  absorbing  character  of  the  work,  unite  to  make 
a  man  of  family  inadvisable.  We  prefer  college  graduates,  if 
we  can  get  the  right  sort;  but  we  do  not  close  the  door  on  the 
self-educated  man  of  signal  merit.  We  demand  rugged  health, 
and  the  importance  of  a  stalwart  physique  is  not  overlooked. 
Further,  the  applicant  must  be  alert  mentally,  cool  headed  and 
a  good  mixer.  In  fact,  we  set  so  high  a  standard  that  the  diffi- 
culty is  in  finding  men  who  can  measure  up  to  it.  Qualities  of 
leadership  are  rare  and  not  always  to  be  readily  detected ;  hence, 
the  necessity  for  exhaustive  investigation.  After  we  have  ex- 
amined and  probed  and  sounded  to  the  fullest  extent,  no  appli- 
cant is  accepted  without  the  personal  approval  of  the  President 
or  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents. 

5.  It  is  too  long. 

It  has  been  claimed,  with  some  merit,  that  the  course  re- 
moves a  young  man  from  active  responsibilities  for  too  long  a 
time  at  the  formative  period  of  his  life.  In  answer,  I  can  only 
say  that  I  do  not  see  how  it  can  be  cut  down  and  still  cover  the 
ground.  It  is  now  practically  the  equivalent  of  a  full  college 
course,  omitting  the  vacations,  or  from  a  post-graduate  stand- 
point the  equivalent  of  a  course,  say  in  medicine. 

6.  It  is  impossible  to  learn  anything  about  the 

department  in  three  months. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  27 

The  students  are  admonished  that  they  must  touch  the 
"high  spots",  because  their  time  everywhere  is  limited.  The 
critics  who  make  the  above  assertion  are  generally  those  who 
neglect  to  distribute  the  students'  time  according  to  the  thought- 
fully preconceived  plan,  but  would  allow7  them  to  consume  the 
first  thirty  days  in  addressing  envelopes,  taking  seal  records  or 
doing  some  similar  work  that  any  bright  boy  of  sixteen  could 
learn  in  forty-eight  hours.  It  frequently  happens  that  although 
the  student  is  not  paid  by  his  department,  he  is  diverted  to  the 
department's  uses  for  an  indefinite  period  on  account  of  short- 
age of  force.  This  is  not  only  as  much  a  misuse  of  the  Com- 
pany's money  as  building  a  siding  and  charging  it  to  GMO  for 
a  new  depot,  but  it  is  moreover  unfair  treatment  of  the  students, 
all  of  whom  merit,  and  many  of  whom  have  commanded,  con- 
siderably higher  salaries  than  they  are  receiving.  For  their 
services  they  are  justly  entitled  to  a  fair  return  in  the  way  of 
experience.  The  collapse  of  the  medieval  system  of  apprentice- 
ship was  caused  by  the  apprentice  being  required  to  spend  much 
of  his  time  performing  the  household  drudgery  of  his  master, 
which  advanced  him  little  or  not  at  all  in  the  "  Arts  and  Myster- 
ies" of  his  craft.  I  believe  that  students,  if  given  the  chance, 
are  capable  in  three  months  of  learning  quite  a  little  about  any 
department  of  this  Company. 

7.  It  is  a  source  of  discouragement  to  the  rank  and  file  of 
employees. 

There  is  a  prevalent  impression  that  having  adopted  the 
student  plan,  the  Company  proposes  to  promote  none  but  stu- 
dents. Let  us  examine  into  the  facts  of  the  case.  During  the 
past  five  years  this  Company  has  appointed  eleven  assistant 
trainmasters,  of  which  three  have  been  graduates  of  the  student 
course.  It  has  appointed  twenty-nine  trainmasters,  of  which 
six  have  been  graduates ;  and  the  office  of  assistant  superintend- 
ent has  been  filled  twenty-eight  times,  three  times  with  student 
graduates.  The  Portland  and  Salt  Lake  divisions  are  excluded 
prior  to  their  coming  under  the  San  Francisco  jurisdiction. 
Lumping  together  these  three  positions,  student  graduates  have 
been  appointed  twelve  out  of  sixty-eight  times,  a  ratio  of  eigh- 
teen percent.  I  see  no  reason  for  believing  that  this  ratio  will 
be  greatly  modified  in  the  future.  Students  have  likewise  been 
appointed  to  other  positions;  but  since  the  course  until  recently 
embraced  only  the  Operating  Department,  its  effects  in  that 
department  have  been  most  conspicuous. 

For  the  ambitious  young  man  who  is  eligible  for  appoint- 
ment the  course  offers  a  possible  avenue  for  promotion.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  competent  employee  who  is  not  eligible  to  a 
studentship  need  not  despair,  because  promotions  to  official 
positions  are  being  and  will  be  made  from  the  rank  and  file. 
And  the  officer  of  equal  grade  with  the  student  graduate  need 
not  fear  him,  because  if  he  is  the  better  man,  he,  and  not  the  stu- 
dent, will  accrue  further  advancement.  I  wish  to  make  it  plain 


28  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

that  a  student  graduate  is  not  advanced  nor  held  back  from 
the  mere  fact  of  his  having  been  a  student.  If  he  has  made  of 
his  training  a  tool  of  special  skill  and  learned  to  apply  it  in  a 
practical  way,  he  will  win  promotion  unless  there  is  one  in  line 
better  equipped  than  he  is.  If  he  deserves  dismissal  he  will  get 
it  as  quickly  as  any  other  employee.  It  is  the  man  to-day  that 
counts,  and  not  what  he  may  or  may  not  have  been. 

8.  Graduates  of  the  course  have  not  made  good,  therefore 
the  course  is  a  failure. 

In  the  syllabus  of  the  course  appears  the  following: 

"It  should  be  understood  that  the  appointment  to  a  student- 
ship does  not  carry  with  it  a  promise  or  an  obligation  on  the 
part  of  the  Company  that  the  appointee  will  receive  an  official 
position  upon  the  completion  of  the  course.  A  student  who  has 
been  graduated  from  the  student  class  will  be  given  preference 
in  the  filling  of  a  vacancy,  provided  he  is  temperamentally  fitted 
to  meet  the  peculiar  conditions  of  the  position." 

Not  all  of  the  students  have  been  permitted  to  finish  the 
course.  In  the  case  of  those  who  have  graduated  to  date,  it  has 
been  deemed  good  business  to  give  them  their  chance.  The  fact 
that  with  one  exception  they  are  holding  down  their  jobs,  and 
that  some  of  them  have  been  advanced  to  other  and  more  impor- 
tant jobs,  proves,  it  seems  to  me,  that  they  are  making  good. 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler  said: 

"What  science  and  practical  life  alike  need  is  not  narrow 
men,  but  broad  men  sharpened  to  a  point." 

Before  he  can  have  developed  his  highest  efficiency,  the 
student  graduate  must  undergo  the  sharpening  process.  It  is 
inevitable  that  immediately  upon  his  graduation  he  cannot 
measure  up  to  the  standard  of  efficiency  of  a  trained  specialist 
of  twenty-five  years'  experience  in  his  particular  line.  Like 
every  man  breaking  into  a  bigger  job,  he  must  be  allowed  a  rea- 
sonable time  in  which  to  learn  to  use  the  authority  with  which 
he  is  vested.  It  is  our  belief  that  the  graduate  of  ten  years  will 
be  a  better,  broader  and  more  competent  officer  for  having  been 
a  student,  if  he  has  the  right  stuff  in  him ;  and  if  he  has  not  the 
right  stuff,  he  will  not  last  that  long. 

To  the  thoughtful  young  man  contemplating  railroading  as 
a  life  work  the  student  course  affords  an  opportunity  not  to  be 
overlooked.  From  a  material  standpoint,  the  figures  are  inter- 
esting. There  are  nine  graduates  of  the  students  course  in  the 
employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company.  They  nave  been  in 
service  an  average  term  of  eight  years  and  three  months,  and 
their  average  monthly  wage  is  $193.33.  These  figures  compare 
favorably  not  only  with  the  average  wages  of  other  employes  of 
like  length  of  service,  but  even  with  the  income  of  college  gradu- 
ates in  other  lines  of  industry,  although  railroads  are  notable  for 
paying  low  salaries.  The  opportunities  in  the  railroad  business 
are  limitless;  and  while  advancement  cannot  come  to  all,  it 
means  a  great  deal  to  a  young  man  to  be  in  line. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  29 

So  when  you  run  across  a  student,  do  not  call  him  a  fool. 
You  may  entertain  that  opinion,  but  calling  him  one  will  not  help 
to  educate  him.  Scratch  him,  and  you  will  find  a  young  man  very 
much  in  earnest,  who  is  performing  a  difficult  task  in  a  con- 
structive way;  who  is  making  great  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of 
gaining  experience,  and  who  is  frequently  being  retarded  in- 
stead of  helped  to  that  end ;  who  is  entitled  to  your  respect  not 
only  because  of  his  employment  but  for  himself. 

In  the  language  of  "Tommy  Atkins"  : 

"We  arn't  no    thin    red  'eroes,    no  we    aren't    no  black- 
guards,  too, 
"But  single  men  in  barracks,  most  remarkable  like  you." 

There  is  nothing  spectacular  about  the  Southern  Pacific 
Student  Course.  We  do  not  claim  to  make  superintendents  and 
general  managers  over  night.  We  are  just  trying  to  make  all 
'round  railroad  men  in  a  new  way. 


MR.  SCRUGHAM  : 

We  thank  Mr.  Collyer  for  his  able  and  interesting  exposi- 
tion of  the  aims,  operation  and  results  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
method  of  educating  students  to  become  efficient  railroaders.  I 
will  now  call  upon  Mr.  Thomas  G.  Gray,  Supervisor  of  Appren- 
tices at  the  Sacramento  Shops,  to  describe  the  methods  used  in 
the  education  of  shop  apprentices. 


THE  APPRENTICE    SCHOOL  SYSTEM    OF  THE    SOUTH- 
ERN PACIFIC  COMPANY. 

BY 
THOMAS  G.  GRAY 

It  is  now  almost  nine  years  since  Mr.  George  M.  Basford, 
in  addressing  the  Convention  of  American  Railway  Master 
Mechanics,  pointed  out  so  forcibly  the  inadequate  and  unsys- 
tematic methods  of  recruiting  and  training  men  for  railroad 
service  and  for  the  Mechanical  Department  in  particular.  At 
that  time  Mr.  Basford  presented  a  plan  for  the  training  of  ap- 
prentices, which  combined  a  thorough  shop  training  under  the 
supervision  of  instructors,  with  an  Apprentice  School  training 
meeting  the  particular  needs  of  the  various  trades,  and  conduct- 
ed within  the  shops  during  working  hours. 

The  general  plan  outlined  by  Mr.  Basford  was  immediately 
put  into  effect  in  the  mechanical  department  of  the  New  York 
Central  Lines  and  a  little  later  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa 
Fe,  the  Union  Pacific  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  started  systems 
of  Apprentice  Instruction  along  the  same  general  lines. 

During  the  last  decade,  with  the  westward  march  of  pro- 
gress and  settlement,  we  have  seen  a  very  great  increase  in  the 


30  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

volume  of  traffic  handled  by  the  Western  Roads.  This  increase 
of  traffic,  bringing  with  it  new  problems  of  maintenance  and 
operation,  has  of  necessity  been  accompanied  by  an  era  of  inter- 
nal adjustment  on  the  physical  and  mechanical  sides — perfec- 
tion of  machinery,  cutting  down  of  grades,  strengthening  of 
bridges,  increasing  of  train  units.  As  a  part  of  this  era  of 
internal  adjustment  there  has  come  to  the  Motive  Power  De- 
partment a  demand  for  a  higher  degree  of  efficiency  in  shop 
work  which  implies  a  higher  degree  of  efficiency  of  training  and 
intelligence  for  the  average  mechanic. 

The  era  of  internal  adjustment  will  extend  into  the  next  de- 
cade but  there  must  go  with  it  an  era  of  sociological  adjustment. 
The  human  part  of  the  machine  is  quite  as  vital  as  the  steel  and 
wooden  parts  in  producing  efficiency  and  so  increasing  the 
income. 

The  problem  of  raising  the  standard  of  training  and  intelli- 
gence in  the  future  mechanics,  which  the  Eastern  roads  of  our 
country  were  required  to  face  and  solve  nine  years  ago,  has  now 
become  our  problem  here  in  the  West. 

The  management  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company,  recog- 
nizing in  systematic  education  a  valuable  means  for  training  its 
men  and  fitting  them  for  their  most  efficient  spheres  of  useful- 
ness, by  a  selective  process,  established  Apprentice  Schools  at 
all  its  principal  Shops,  on  January  first,  1913.  These  schools 
were  started  at  Los  Angeles,  Sparks,  San  Francisco  and  Sacra- 
mento. An  Apprentice  School  had  been  established  some 
ten  years  previous  to  this  time  at  the  Sparks  Shops.  The 
establishment  of  these  schools  was  the  first  step  in  a  plan  which 
will  without  doubt  have  as  its  complementary  step,  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  more  systematic  shop  training  and  supervision. 

Applicants  for  Apprenticeship  are  not  employed  under  the 
age  of  16  years  or  over  21  years.  Before  being  employed  each 
applicant  must  pass  two  examinations — a  physical  examination 
by  the  company's  physician  and  an  oral  and  written  examina- 
tion by  the  Apprentice  Instructor.  The  purpose  of  the  exam- 
ination by  the  Apprentice  Instructor  is  to  determine  as  nearly 
as  possible  what  the  boy's  education  has  been,  what  his  fitness  is 
for  taking  up  the  work  of  the  Apprentice  School  and  by  ques- 
tioning to  find  out  how  well  he  is  likely  to  be  adapted  to  the 
trade  he  has  chosen  to  enter. 

The  first  year  of  the  Apprenticeship  is  a  preparatory  term. 
The  shop  and  school  records  of  all  Apprentices  are  carefully 
kept  and  filed  in  the  Apprentice  School  room.  If  it  is  found 
during  the  preparatory  year  that  a  boy  does  not  possess  the 
proper  qualifications  to  become  a  good  mechanic,  he  is  not  per- 
mitted to  advance,  in  which  case  he  and  his  parents,  or  guardians 
are  informed  and  the  cause  stated. 

The  course  of  instruction  in  the  Apprentice  Schools  is  con- 
fined very  largely  to  the  two  subjects  so  essential  to  the  mental 
equipment  of  the  mechanic,  viz.,  drawing  and  arithmetic.  In 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  31 

both  of  these  subjects  the  work  of  instruction  is  adapted  to  suit 
the  needs  of  the  various  trades.  The  course  in  Arithmetic 
starts  at  the  very  beginning  of  this  subject  and  each  principle 
is  illustrated  by  means  of  shop  problems  which  are  wrorded  in 
the  language  of  the  shop  and  are  therefore  thoroughly  intelli- 
gible to  the  apprentice.  The  courses  in  Arithmetic,  commonly 
called  in  the  Apprentice  Schools,  Problem  Courses,  are  gotten 
up  in  loose-leaf  form  and  are  followed  by  each  apprentice  work- 
ing individually.  A  boy's  progress  therefore  depends  upon  his 
own  ability  and  industry  and  this  gives  to  the  Apprentice 
Instructor  an  excellent  basis  upon  which  to  judge  his  mental 
capacity  and  certain  phases  of  his  character.  The  greater  part 
of  the  problem  work  is  done  by  the  boys  at  home  and  handed 
in  at  their  regular  recitations  which  come  twice  a  week  in  peri- 
ods of  two  hours  each.  The  recitation  hours  are  from  7  to  9 
in  the  morning  and  from  1  to  3  in  the  afternoon.  Each  boy 
has  one  morning  and  one  afternoon  recitation  period  during 
each  week. 

The  periods  in  the  Apprentice  School  are  employed  for  the 
most  part  on  drawing.  This  work  is  more  easily  adapted  tu 
the  specific  needs  of  each  trade  than  is  the  problem  work.  The 
general  practice  is  to  have  a  boy  make  a  free-hand  sketch  of 
some  model  chosen  from  his  particular  line  of  work.  He  meas- 
ures all  the  dimensions  of  the  model  and  then  goes  to  his  desk 
and  makes  a  mechanical  drawing  of  it.  The  instructor  closely 
supervises  this  work  and  points  out  errors  in  it,  at  the  same 
time  explaining  the  correct  method.  Another  practice  which 
has  been  found  to  be  very  effective  in  teaching  apprentices  to 
read  blue  prints  is  to  put  into  their  hands  blue  prints  of  objects 
thoroughly  familiar  to  them  and  to  have  them  lay  the  drawing 
out  to  some  different  scale.  This  serves  the  double  purpose  of 
making  the  boy  go  over  the  drawing  dimension  by  dimension 
and  of  teaching  him  the  meaning  and  use  of  the  scale.  For 
boys  working  in  the  sheet  metal  trades,  after  a  short  course  in 
drawing  from  models  and  reading  blue  prints,  the  work  is 
specialized  to  suit  their  needs  in  the  development  of  patterns 
either  for  tinware  or  for  the  sheets  of  a  locomotive  boiler. 
The  success  met  with  in  teaching  the  methods  for  the  develop- 
ment of  patterns  demonstrates  beyond  all  question  the  great 
advantage  of  combining  instruction  with  actual  shop  practice. 
This  work  of  development  when  taught  under  the  name  of 
descriptive  geometry  and  as  an  abstract  subject  is  regarded 
generally  as  a  rather  difficult  and  dull  study.  But  the  boiler- 
maker  and  tin-smith  apprentice  who  cuts  out  his  pattern  and 
bends  it  into  shape,  it  means  the  mastery  of  the  highest  branch 
of  his  trade. 

The  Apprentices  are  assigned  to  graded  sections  according 
to  their  previous  education.  These  sections  vary  in  size  from 
15  to  20  boys,  depending  on  the  total  number  enrolled  in  the 
school.  It  is  the  custom  to  take  a  part  of  each  period,  usually 


32  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

the  last  20  minutes,  for  the  answering  of  any  questions  con- 
cerning the  problem  work  or  the  shop  work  which  may  be  asked 
by  the  boys.  All  answers  and  explanations  are  given  before 
the  whole  section.  Illustrations  and  diagrams  are  freely  used 
on  the  blackboard.  If  the  answering  of  questions  does  not  take 
all  the  time  set  aside  for  this  purpose,  the  instructor  tries  to 
have  some  subject  "up  his  sleeve"  to  introduce  for  discussion 
among  the  boys.  This  stimulates  thought  and  reasoning  and 
develops  the  faculty  for  oral  expression.  In  the  case  of  the 
most  advanced  sections,  additional  time  is  taken  for  a  system- 
atically arranged  course  of  short  talks  on  the  principles  of 
Mechanics.  Illustrations  are  drawn  from  the  various  tools  and 
appliances  familiar  to  the  boys  and  problems  are  worked, 
based  on  these  principles.  The  blackboard  is  freely  used  in 
illustrating  the  easiest  way  of  figuring  the  more  difficult 
problems. 

The  fact  that  attendance  at  the  Apprentice  School  is  made 
compulsory  by  the  Company  and  that  the  boys  are  paid  while 
in  attendance  seems  to  place  the  whole  work  of  the  schools  on  a 
more  serious  plane  than  would  ordinarily  be  thought  possible 
with  boys  of  this  age.  They  are  required  to  exercise  precisely 
the  same  care  and  industry  in  the  school  work  as  they  do  in  the 
shop,  for  the  two  are  essential  parts  of  their  training.,  The 
matter  of  discipline  becomes  very  simple  where  an  atmosphere 
of  seriousness  surrounds  the  work  and  where  the  co-operation 
of  the  shop  officials  is  hearty.  Cases  of  violation  of  the  rules 
of  good  conduct  and  proper  discipline  are  vigorously  and  impar- 
tially handled.  They  very  seldom  occur. 

The  Apprentice  Schoolroom  is  kept  open  during  the  noon 
hour  and  the  Instructor  is  there  to  offer  any  assistance  sought 
by  the  boys.  A  number  of  the  leading  technical  publications 
are  taken  by  the  Company  for  the  use  of  the  boys. 

The  services  rendered  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Apprentice 
Schools  will  prove  much  more  far-reaching  than  the  mere  giving 
of  instruction  in  Arithmetic  and  Drawing.  The  combining  of 
instruction  and  work  will  develop  men  who  work  by  intelligent 
self-direction  and  not  automatically.  The  teaching  of  the  fun- 
damental principles  underlying  all  mechanical  operations  will 
give  to  the  worker  the  power  of  adaptation,  a  most  valuable 
possession.  The  gaining  of  even  a  limited  knowledge  of  what 
science  has  contributed  toward  the  development  of  all  our  indus- 
trial processes,  will  gradually  but  very  surely  break  down  the 
prejudice  that  exists  so  largely  in  the  minds  of  our  so-called 
practical  men  against  scientific  knowledge  and  scientific  meth- 
ods of  operation.  We  shall  find  our  men  of  the  future  more 
receptive  of  and  willing  to  co-operate  in  the  efficiency  move- 
ment. We  shall,  as  ignorance  is  dispelled  and  prejudice  over- 
come, find  them  taking  the  initiative  in  applying  the  common- 
sense,  waste-eliminating  principles  of  efficiency  to  their  own 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  33 

particular  operations.     These  results  can  be  won  through  educa- 
tion and  through  this  means  only. 

Through  the  Apprentice  School,  where  every  Apprentice 
comes  under  the  close  and  intimate  observation  of  the  Instructor, 
it  is  possible  to  discover  boys  of  exceptional  character  and 
ability.  From  such  boys  the  foremen  of  the  future  can  be 
recruited.  It  is  within  the  power  of  the  Apprentice  Instructor 
who  gets  close  to  his  boys  to  direct  the  work  of  exceptional  ones 
so  as  to  foster  their  ambition,  to  awaken  the  interest  of  those 
who  are  dull  and  phlegmatic  and  to  promote  within  all  the  habit 
of  inquiry. 

The  development  of  the  power  of  adaptability,  of  independ- 
ent thought,  of  initiative  and  of  judgment  are  all  clearly  within 
the  sphere  of  service  of  pur  Apprentice  Instructors  but  we  fail 
in  the  grasping  of  our  highest  opportunity  if  we  fail  to  be  con- 
cerned with  and  to  promote,  in  a  strong,  manly  way,  the  moral 
qualities  in  our  boys.  All  the  initiative,  good  judgment  and 
adaptability  we  may  develop  in  them  is  useless  unless  they  are 
sent  put  from  the  school,  trustworthy,  responsible,  loyal  and 
conscientious  men.  The  Instructor  in  this  particular  has  a 
grave  responsibility  because  his  example  will  be  his  greatest 
instrument  for  good,  and  especially  so  if  he  holds  the  respect  of 
his  boys.  He  must  be  square,  manly,  fearless  in  declaring  for 
the  right  and  his  life  outside  the  school  must  be  such  as  to  com- 
mand only  respect. 

The  Apprentice  School,  while  only  introductory  and  auxil- 
iary to  the  service,  must  be  an  auxiliary  which  shall  be  able  to 
change  the  whole  character  of  that  service.  It  should  be  the 
aim  of  the  Apprentice  Instructor  to  develop  within  our  future 
men  the  conception  of  work,  as  service,  as  a  means  for  the  ex- 
pression of  inner  life  and  character,  rather  than  a  mere  avenue 
to  the  obtaining  of  bread  and  butter.  When  we  shall  have  won 
the  enthusiastic  interest  of  our  future  men  by  teaching  them 
to  look  upon  the  Railroad  business  as  a  scientific  profession,  we 
shall  gradually  build  up  a  working  force  capable  of  voluntarily 
supporting  and  maintaining  the  highest  degree  of  efficiency. 

Every  Apprentice  must  be  made  to  feel  the  dignity  of  his 
school  and  of  its  work.  He  must  know  in  no  uncertain  terms 
that  the  Instructor  stands  strongly  opposed  to  the  saloon  and 
all  the  destructive  forces  that  go  with  it.  He  must  be  made  to 
see  the  value  of  the  opportunity  placed  within  his  hands  for  the 
building  up  of  his  mental  capacity  and  his  resourcefulness. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  schoolroom  must  be  one  of  cordiality, 
democracy  and  absolute  impartiality.  The  room  must  be  kept 
spotlessly  clean  and  in  good  order.  In  order  to  promote  clean- 
liness and  pride  in  the  neatness  of  work,  the  boys  should  be 
provided  with  a  place  to  wash  up.  The  attitude  of  the  Appren- 
tices toward  the  school  is  largely  determined  by  its  general 
atmosphere  and  the  efficiency  and  system  with  which  it  is  run. 


34  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

The  attitude  of  the  Instructor  toward  the  boys  must  be  one  of 
genuinely  kindly  interest.  The  boys  must  have  confidence  in 
and  respect  for  the  Instructor  if  the  school  is  to  do  its  best  work. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  particular  mention  that  the  Appren- 
tice Instructors  have  met  with  marked  success  in  the  handling 
of  the  so-called  "incorrigibles",  boys  who  have  come  from  the 
reform  schools  and  those  who  have  spent  some  of  their  leisure 
time  in  jail  for  petty  crimes.  There  seems  to  oe  something 
about  the  serious  atmosphere  of  the  Apprentice  School  with  its 
close  contact  to  the  practical  work  of  their  lives  which  holds  the 
interest  and  respect  of  these  boys.  Their  unfailing  character- 
istic is  a  superabundance  of  animal  spirits.  This  can  be 
brought  under  control  and  directed  into  worthy  channels  by 
careful  handling. 

One  of  the  greatest  possibilities  for  service  in  the  Appren- 
tice School  is  the  building  up  of  a  spirit  of  interest  and  co- 
operation toward  the  admirable  movement  to  promote  safety  in 
every  department  of  the  Railroad  work.  We  are  all  deeply 
proud  of  the  fact  that  our  Company  has  been  awarded  the  Har- 
riman  Gold  Medal  for  the  best  Safety  record  during  the  past 
year.  Our  Apprentice  Schools  are  an  eminently  fitting  place 
for  the  development  of  that  fine  pride  in  the  achievement  of 
such  a  worthy  distinction,  which  shall  be  the  source  of  even 
greater  efforts  toward  the  repeated  winning  of  it. 

After  only  one  year  of  work,  our  Apprentice  Schools,  may 
with  pride  point  to  specific  cases,  not  a  few,  which  demonstrates 
beyond  all  question  the  splendid  results  which  may  with  confi- 
dence be  looked  for  from  this  phase  of  Industrial  Education. 

Our  future  must  be  one  of  continued  development  and  pro- 
gress. We  must  carefully  devise  methods  of  instruction  which 
shall  present  the  work  of  the  various  trades  in  the  clearest  and 
most  forcible  wray.  We  must  devise  ways  of  carrying  on  a 
course  of  special  instruction  in  a  separate  recitation  room  tak- 
ing the  boys  of  each  trade  or  of  like  trades  in  groups,  for  20  or 
30  minutes,  during  the  regular  two-hour  recitation  periods  of 
the  sections. 

The  benefits  to  be  derived,  in  a  conference  of  this  kind, 
from  the  free  interchange  of  ideas,  cannot  be  over-estimated. 

We  have  a  total  of  325  Apprentice  Boys  under  our  instruc- 
tion at  he  present  time.  We  can  tell  what  rich  fruits  may 
be  borne  from  the  movement  founded  on  such  fundamental  right 
and  such  sound  business  judgment. 

We  have  the  making  or  marring  of  this  admirable  work, 
for  we  are  the  pioneers  in  it  on  the  road.  Let  us  bring  to  the 
discussions  of  this  and  all  future  conferences  (of  which  I  hope 
may  be  many),  a  broad-minded,  generous  spirit  and  the  one 
aim  of  combining  our  talents  toward  lifting  the  work  of  the 
Apprentice  School  System  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company  to 
the  highest  plane  of  efficiency  and  service  possible. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  35 

MR.  SCRUGHAM: 

The  next  paper  is  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Preston,  Instructor  in 
Mechanical  Engineering  in  the  University  of  Nevada.  His  sub- 
ject is,  "What  We  Should  Do  for  the  Apprentice  Boy."  Mr. 
Preston's  long  experience  as  apprentice,  machinist,  shop  foreman 
and  apprentice  instructor  qualifies  him  to  speak  with  authority 
on  the  subject. 


WHAT  WE  SHOULD  DO  FOR  THE  APPRENTICE  BOY. 

BY 
A.  W.  PRESTON,  Instructor  in  the  University  of  Nevada 

Most  of  us  present  to-day  are  more  or  less  familiar  with 
the  grave  difficulties  facing  the  Superintendent  of  Machinery  or 
Master  Mechanic  in  his  efforts  to  maintain  a  force  of  skilled 
and  efficient  mechanics  in  his  shop.  Industrial  organizations 
have  only  themselves  to  blame  for  this  condition  on  account  of 
their  gross  neglect  of  apprentice  education.  With  few  excep- 
tions, the  apprentices  have  been  selected  in  a  most  haphazard 
fashion,  with  little  or  no  attention  paid  to  systematic  instruc- 
tion and  development. 

The  first  step  toward  the  making  of  a  competent  mechanic 
is  the  selection  of  good  material  to  work  on.  Before  entering 
the  service  of  an  industrial  concern,  the  apprentice  should  dem- 
onstrate that -he  is  able  to  read  well,  write  legibly  and  under- 
stand ordinary  arithmetical  operations.  Furthermore,  he 
should  be  of  good  moral  character  and  amenable  to  discipline. 
After  employment  he  should  be  required  to  follow  a  carefully 
systematized  course  in  shop  practice,  mechanical  drawing  and 
elementary  mathematics.  All  of  the  required  work  should  be 
done  during  the  time  paid  for  by  the  Company  except  that  re- 
quired for  mathematical  problems,  which  should  be  done  at 
home. 

The  shop  training  must  be  taught  by  an  instructor  who 
personally  understands  the  business,  and  preferably  by  one  who 
has  been  "thru  the  mill."  He  knows  what  the  apprentice  has 
to  deal  with  and  the  difficulties  he  encounters  in  obtaining  a 
knowledge  of  his  trade. 

The  boys  must  be  taught  direct  and  correct  methods,  and 
to  understand  the  value  of  time  and  material. 

You  cannot  introduce  anything  in  a  shop  or  department 
that  will  pay  as  quick  results  as  proper  apprentice  instruction. 
A  company  may  lose  money  on  the  first  year  of  a  noy's  appren- 
ticeship, but  the  boy  pays  the  company  well  for  the  other  three 
years.  In  order  to  obtain  the  best  results  from  a  boy  he  must 
be  shown  that  there  is  something  ahead  of  him;  something  to 
work  for.  College  graduates  are  given  experience  and  taught 
for  the  purpose  of  filling  the  offices  from  the  Master  Mechanic 


36  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

to  Manager.  Why  not  develop  the  apprentice  thru  the  proper 
channel  and  use  him  for  positions  up  to  and  including  the  Mas- 
ter Mechanic? 

A  locomotive  engineer  makes  a  poor  Master  Mechanic  or 
General  Foreman  because  he  does  not  understand  shop  work 
or  much  else  out  of  the  scope  of  his  previous  experience.  For 
the  same  reason  a  boiler  maker,  blacksmith,  or  machine  shop 
man  would  fail  to  fill  the  position.  Why  not  then  introduce  a 
training  which  will  make  the  men  you  want?  I  suggest  that  a 
special  course  be  introduced,  and  the  boys  showing  the  ability 
and  interest,  be  promoted  after  the  first  year  to  the  special 
course,  putting  them  to  work  in  all  of  the  different  shops  that 
are  in  operation  at  that  point. 

Throughout  the  course  the  apprentice  should  be  carefully 
watched  and  directed,  an  accurate  record  of  each  boy's  perform- 
ance being  kept. 

The  course  is  to  consist  of  four  years.  For  railroad  work 
a  suitable  division  would  be  as  follows: 

General    Machine   Work 1  year 

Erecting  Shop  6  months 

Blacksmith  Shop  2  months 

Boiler   Shop   2  months 

Shop  Clerk's  Office 2  months 

Air   Brake   Shop 2  months 

Advanced  Machine  Shop 3  months 

Round  House  4  months 

Firing  on  the  Road 3  months 

General  Shop    Work  and    Assisting 

Foreman 1  year 

I  suggest  one  year  on  general  machine  work,  to  be  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  gain  experience  on  all  common  machine  work. 
The  next  six  months  to  be  spent  in  the  erecting  shop,  covering 
valve  setting,  cab  work,  repairs  on  injectors,  steam  gauges,  etc. 
I  suggest  two  months  each  in  the  blacksmith  and  boiler  shops, 
two  months  in  the  shop  clerk's  office,  then  two  months  in  the 
air  brake  room.  This  will  give  the  apprentice  a  good  idea  of 
such  work.  Then  they  should  have  not  less  than  four  months 
on  tool  making  and  accurate  machine  work  on  the  different 
machines.  By  this  time  they  will  be  able  to  handle  the  finer 
class  of  work  and  will  know  the  importance  of  being  accurate 
and  careful.  The  next  four  months  should  be  spent  in  the 
round  house,  where  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  be  capable  of 
doing  any  class  of  work  on  a  locomotive.  A  poor  piece  of  work 
on  a  service  engine  may  cause  an  engine  failure  and  a  train 
delay. 

By  this  time  an  apprentice  should  be  well  equipped  with 
practical  knowledge  of  shop  work.  The  next  three  months  are 
spent  in  firing  on  the  road.  This  is  to  give  him  an  education 
on  the  handling  of  an  engine,  ways  of  the  engineer,  and  dis- 
patcher, trainmaster  and  other  road  men. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  37 

Next  he  shall  spend  one  year  on  general  shop  work,  assist- 
ing the  foreman,  filling  temporary  vacancies,  etc.  To  get  the 
best  effort  from  an  apprentice,  he  must  be  shown  that  the  com- 
pany wants  his  service,  but  before  he  can  be  advanced  he  must 
have  a  complete  knowledge  of  many  departments  in  order  to  deal 
with  his  work  intelligently. 


MR.  SCRUGHAM  : 

One  of  the  great  pioneers  in  the  field  of  industrial  education 
was  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  Company.  They  have  spent  large 
sums  of  money  in  attaining  an  ideal,  and  it  has  paid  them  to  do 
so.  Their  delegate  to  this  Conference  has  been  intimately  con- 
nected with  their  educational  work.  We  will  call  upon  him  to 
tell  us  something  of  their  organization  and  methods.  I  have  the 
pleasure  of  introducing  Mr.  John  Linn  of  Topeka,  Kansas, 
Assistant  Supervisor  of  Apprentices  for  the  Santa  Fe. 


MR.  LINN: 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  Gentlemen:  Mr.  Scrugham  is  to  be 
congratulated,  and  I  wish  to  thank  him  for  starting  a  meeting 
of  this  kind.  We  Kansas  people  are  all  proud  of  the  State. 
Sometimes,  though,  they  say  some  funny  things  about  us,  but  I 
am  not  ashamed  to  tell  you  that  I  am  from  the  Sunflower  State. 
We  are  proud  of  our  people,  we  are  proud  of  the  idea  for  which 
the  State  stands,  we  are  proud  of  our  great  wheat  fields,  we  are 
proud  of  our  gas  and  oil  wells,  we  boast  of  King  Corn.  Mr. 
Coburn  has  made  famous  the  Kansas  Steer  and  his  sister,  and 
likewise  the  Kansas  Hog,  and  the  Kansas  Hen. 

Speaking  of  the  Kansas  Hen,  the  wealth  she  has  produced 
under  the  present  high  prices  is  very  much  like  the  famous  hen 
that  used  to  produce  the  golden  egg.  Speaking  01  the  hen,  one 
question  always  bothered  me.  It  was  the  correctness  of  the 
expression :  "Does  she  sit"  or  does  she  set".  At  the  present 
time  of  high  prices,  the  question  is,  when  she  cackles,  "Did  she 
lay",  or  "did  she  lie". 

I  am  sorry  Mr.  Hill  is  not  here  to  tell  you  about  the  Safety 
work  as  we  do  it  on  the  Santa  Fe.  The  Santa  Fe  is  one  of  the 
pioneers  in  this  safety  movement.  It  was  brought  to  the  front 
by  our  General  Claim  Attorney,  Mr.  J.  G.  Hamilton,  and  later 
our  Mr.  Hill  Was  placed  in  charge  as  Safety  Commissioner,  with 
headquarters  at  Topeka,  but  he  goes  all  over  the  system  getting 
the  employees  to  take  up  this  Safety  First  movement. 

Our  employees  have  been  supplied  with  buttons  saying, 
"Get  the  Safety  Habit".  Placards  are  placed  all  over  the  shops 
saying,  "Get  the  Safety  Habit".  Also,  something  like  that  came 
with  our  monthly  checks,  "Get  the  Safety  Habit". 

Speaking  of  Kansas  we  have  one  Safety  Law  in  particular 
that  I  think  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  United  States.  I  am 
proud  to  say  that  I  think  the  Kansas  Temperance  Law  is  the 
greatest  Safety  Law  ever  made  by  any  state.  Some  of  you  may 


38  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

doubt  its  effectiveness,  but  I  was  born  in  Kansas,  and,  if  you 
will  pardon  the  reference,  I  was  put  of  its  borders  before  I  ever 
saw  a  man  take  a  drop  of  liquor  in  an  open  saloon. 

With  the  kindness  of  your  Chairman,  I  will  try  to  tell  you 
what  the  Santa  Fe  is  doing  in  the  training  of  its  young  men : 


THE  APPRENTICESHIP  SYSTEM  OF  THE  SANTA  FE. 

BY 

JOHN  H.  LINN,  Assistant  Supervisor  of  Apprentices 

Life  is  more  valuable  than  property.  Men  are  more  in  de- 
mand than  machines.  Even  from  the  purely  commercial  point 
of  view,  the  question  of  men,  the  right  kind  of  men,  men  by 
nature  endowed  and  by  training  and  education  specificially  fit- 
ted for  the  work  they  are  called  upon  to  do,  is  the  biggest  prob- 
lem the  railroads  and  manufacturing  concerns  have  to  solve. 

The  degree  of  civilization  of  a  country  or  nation  can  be  safe- 
ly measured  by  the  value  placed  on  a  human  life.  In  a  highly 
civilized  country  it  is  held  in  high  regard;  the  nearer  we  ap- 
proach the  state  of  barbarism  the  cheaper  we  find  the  life  of  a 
human  being.  In  this  age  of  enlightenment,  this  day  of  pub- 
licity, we  must  safeguard  the  lives  of  our  patrons,  our  subor- 
dinates, our  fellow  workmen.  Carelessness  and  his  full  brother, 
ignorance,  are  responsible  for  85  per  cent,  of  all  our  accidents. 
The  education,  the  careful  training  of  our  subordinates,  will 
prevent  accidents,  will  add  to  our  profits.  We  are  all  depend- 
ent upon  each  other.  We  have  so  many  interests  in  common. 
We  can't  drop  a  dead  cat  into  the  public  well  to  spite  our  neigh- 
bor without  spoiling  our  own  tea.  We  cannot  be  selfish  in  our 
work.  We  cannot  hold  our  knowledge  to  ourselves.  We  can- 
not stand  still  these  days;  if  we  do  others  will  pass  us.  We 
must  not  be  satisfied  with  our  present  accomplishments,  for 
others  have  newer  and  better  ones.  Nature  has  demonstrated 
the  need  of  new  blood  in  breeding  our  live  stock.  If  the  rail- 
roads and  manufacturing  concerns  are  to  cope  with  the  needs 
of  our  rapid  industrial  development,  they  must  infuse  new 
blood,  select  the  right  kind  of  young  men,  and  definitely  and 
specifically  train  them  for  their  needs. 

The  awakening  of  the  railroad  and  manufacturing  com- 
panies to  the  importance  of  educating  and  training  young  me- 
chanics to  recruit  their  depleting  ranks  and  fill  their  expanded 
shops,  was  until  six  or  seven  years  ago  very  slow — not  until 
the  supply  had  fallen  far  behind  the  demand,  or  until  they  were 
sorely  pressed  for  men.  There  has  never  been  a  time  when  the 
demand  for  good,  all-round,  skilled  mechanics  was  greater  than 
it  is  to-day.  The  cry  on  every  hand,  from  one  end  of  the  indus- 
trial world  to  the  other,  is  the  lack  of  competent  workmen.  In 
the  struggle  and  competition  of  modern  business  push,  brawn 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  39 

and  muscle  have  necessarily  given  place  to  brains  and  skill. 
While  inventions  and  improvements  in  endless  succession  are 
everywhere  increasing  the  effectiveness  of  commercial  enter- 
prise, they  are  likewise  daily  increasing  the  demand  for  think- 
ing men,  men  capable  of  performing  the  work  incident  to  our 
rapid  industrial  development.  The  worker  or  artisan  who 
labored  at  the  bench  in  his  own  home,  assisted  perhaps  by  his 
son  or  a  few  helpers,  has  been  supplanted  by  immense  shops 
and  manafactories  with  thousands  of  workers  under  a  single 
roof.  To  meet  these  changed  conditions  we  must  have  trained 
minds  and  skilled  hands,  not  of  the  few  but  of  the  many.  The 
educational  forces  of  the  country  are  beginning  to  realize  that 
they  have  failed  to  keep  pace  with  our  rapid  industrial  develop- 
ment and  are  struggling  blindly  for  some  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty. Meanwhile  the  wheels  of  industry  will  be  checked  for 
lack  of  operatives  unless  the  industrial  concerns  come  to-  the 
rescue.  Many  of  them  are  doing  so.  Nowhere  is  the  lack  of 
workers  more  keenly  felt  than  in  the  modern  railway  shops.  I 
might  add  that  nowhere  is  the  problem  being  so  successfully 
solved. 

I  have  been  asked  to  tell  you  what  one  of  these  companies, 
the  Santa  Fe,  is  doing  to  meet  this  emergency.  I  need  not  tell 
you  I  am  proud  of  the  Santa  Fe.  I  love  her  romantic  name,  her 
employees,  her  officials,  and  am  proud  of  what  slie  has  accom- 
plished. She  has  given  us  our  hospitals  to  care  for  our  sick  and 
injured;  our  safety  department  to  guard  against  accidents;  our 
pension  system  to  provide  for  our  aged,  those  who  have  given 
the  best  years  years  of  their  lives  to  her  service;  she  has  pro- 
vided reading  rooms  and  recreation  halls  wherein  are  furnished 
free  lectures,  concerts,  and  wholesome  entertainments,  even  in 
the  remotest  desert  terminals;  and  last,  but  by  no  means  least, 
she  has  provided  a  system  of  training  and  educating  young  men 
for  our  service — a  system  which  gives  its  apprentices  an  oppor- 
tunity nowhere  surpassed  and  which  has  resulted  in  unmeasur- 
ed value  to  the  company.  Our  management  would  no  more 
think  of  abolishing  its  apprentice  schools  than  it  would  of  abol- 
ishing its  power  houses  or  its  tool  rooms. 

The  system  in  vogue  on  the  Santa  Fe  really  had  its  begin- 
ning a  score  of  years  ago  when  Mr.  John  Purcell,  now  Assistant 
to  the  Vice-President,  and  at  the  head  of  our  Mechanical  De- 
partment, organized  and  maintained,  at  his  personal  expense, 
a  little  school  at  the  Division  Point  where  he  was  then  located 
as  Master  Mechanic.  This  school  cost  him  $40  a  month  out  of 
his  own  pocket,  but  several  of  his  students  are  now  occupying 
responsible  positions  with  the  company. 

I  would  also  like  to  pay  tribute  to  Mr.  G.  M.  Basford,  now 
with  the  Joseph  T.  Ryerson  Company,  but  formerly  with  the 
American  Locomotive  Company,  and  at  one  time  Editor  of  the 
American  Engineer.  Through  his  lectures  and  magazine 
articles  he  has  probably  done  more  than  any  other  one  man  in 


40  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

the  country  to  advance  the  idea  of  our  modern  apprenticeship 
systems.  I  would  call  him  the  father  of  modern  apprenticeship. 
His  address  less  than  two  weeks  ago,  January  13th,  before  the 
New  England  Railway  Club,  at  Boston,  on  the  subject,  "Devel- 
opment of  Young  Men  for  Railroad  Work",  is,  I  think,  the 
ablest  article  ever  written  on  this  subject.  You  will  find  a  copy 
of  this  in  the  issue  of  January  16th  of  the  Railway  Age  Gazette 
and  doubtless  in  other  railway  publications.  By  the  way, 
thanks  to  Mr.  R.  V.  Wright,  the  Railway  Age  Gazette  and  its 
companion  ,the  American  Engineer,  have  done  much  to  spread 
this  advanced  apprenticeship  movement. 

Our  regular  apprenticeship  school  system  was  organized 
in  September,  1907.  We  now  have  some  two  dozen  schools 
located  at  various  division  points  on  the  road  from  Chicago  to 
the- Pacific  and  down  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  having  a  total  of 
over  800  apprentices.  Some  40  Instructors  devote  their  entire 
time  to  this  work,  the  responsibility  of  the  whole  scheme  rest- 
ing in  our  Supervisor  of  Apprentices,  Mr.  F.  W.  Thomas,  to 
whose  remarkable  ability  and  personality  is  due  the  success  of 
our  project.  I  wish  he  could  have  been  with  you  to-day,  but 
when  your  invitation  was  received  he  was  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
on  a  similar  mission  and  could  not  have  reached  here  even  had 
there  been  no  tie  up  of  the  trains. 

Our  apprentice  system  is  generally  referred  to  as  our 
apprentice  school  system.  Now,  we  are  proud  of  our  schools, 
but  the  schools  themselves  are  a  small  part  of  our  system.  The 
place  to  learn  to  swim  is  in  the  water.  We  have  found  that  the 
place  to  learn  a  trade,  and  consequently  to  teach  a  trade,  is  in 
the  shop  itself.  So  we  have  selected  a  Shop  Instructor  for  about 
every  twenty-five  apprentice  boys.  This  man  is  a  skilled 
mechanic  himself,  a  boy-loving  man,  one  who  not  only  knows 
but  knows  how  to  tell  what  he  knows.  He  has  no  other  duties 
than  those  relating  to  training  the  hand  and  eye  and  judgment 
of  his  apprentices.  It  is  his  duty  to  give  the  boy  whatever 
instruction  he  may  need  on  any  machine  or  class  of  work.  He 
it  is  who  decides  when  the  apprentice  should  be  changed  from 
one  kind  of  work  to  another.  Upon  him  rests  the  responsibility 
of  seeing  that  the  boy  is  given  all  classes  of  work  a  mechanic 
in  his  particular  trade  is  called  upon  to  do,  whether  on  ma- 
chines or  erecting  floor,  in  car  or  paint  shop.  He  works  in  har- 
mony with  the  Foreman.  The  Foreman  is  held  responsible  for 
immediate  output  and  the  Instructor  for  ultimate  output,  i.  e. — 
the  production  of  skilled  mechanics  for  the  future.  The  busy 
Foreman  to-day  in  one  of  our  modern  shops  has  no  time  to  stop 
to  show  a  boy,  no  time  to  change  him  from  one  class  of  work 
to  another,  in  fact  he  would  often  be  tempted  to  keep  a  boy  on  a 
particular  job  simply  because  the  boy  could  do  better  work  and 
more  work  than  a  green  boy.  But  here  is  where  the  Shop  In- 
tructor  comes  in.  He  is  there  to  see  that  the  boy  has  the  oppor- 
tunity to  learn  and  to  give  him  the  necessary  instruction  at  the 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  41 

start.  When  the  Foreman  has  work  to  be  assigned  to  an  ap- 
prentice, it  is  the  Shop  Instructor's  duty  to  know  what  boy  is 
best  fitted  for  doing  this,  what  boy  most  needs  this  particular 
experience,  and  know  also  pust  how  much  personal  assistance  to 
give  him. 

Some  companies  have  established  school  instruction  for 
their  apprentices,  but  have  felt  they  could  not  afford  the  ex- 
pense of  the  shop  instruction.  This  is  a  mistake.  I  do  not 
mean  to  belittle  the  school  instruction.  It  is  worth  many  times 
its  cost,  but  it  is  from  the  shop  instruction  that  the  company  is 
going  to  get  its  largest  returns,  either  in  immediate  output  or 
in  the  ultimate  gain  in  skilled  mechanics.  As  the  man  in 
charge  of  our  Mechanical  Department  recently  wrote  one  of  his 
Mechanical  Superintendents,  the  question  of  putting  on  an  ad- 
ditional instructor  is  not  one  of  expense  but  one  of  investment. 
It  is  not  an  increase  of  $125  in  the  monthly  payroll  but  a  de- 
crease of  several  times  that  amount. 

Closely  allied  to  the  shop  instruction  and  co-ordinate  with 
it  is  the  school  instruction,  that  given  by  the  School  Instructor 
in  the  school  rooms  built  and  equipped  by  the  company  and 
located  in  the  midst  of  the  shop  buildings.  Here  the  boy  spends 
two  hours  a  day  twice  a  week  during  his  four-year  apprentice- 
ship. Instruction  is  confined  to  subjects  relating  directly  to 
the  respective  trades.  There  are  so  many  things  that  the 
Mechanic  should  know,  that  with  but  four  hours  a  week  and  a 
course  of  only  four  years  it  will  require  every  moment  of  the 
apprentice's  time  to  master  the  essentials  of  his  trade.  Fur- 
thermore, a  too  wide  diversity  of  subjects  will  onjy  tend  to  lead 
him  astray.  The  school  instruction  is  given  during  daylight 
working  hours,  and  the  boys  are  paid  for  the  time  the  same  as 
when  at  work  in  the  shop. 

Night  schools,  so  far  as  the  average  boy  is  concerned,  are 
a  failure.  I  know  history  points  to  many  men  who  achieved 
fame  by  studying  by  dimly-lighted  lamps  far  into  the  night. 
But  had  this  not  been  out  of  the  order  the  historian  would  not 
have  mentioned  it.  It  takes  a  great  deal  of  stamina  for  even  an 
ambitious  man  to  sit  down  to  night  lessons  after  working  ten 
hours  in  the  shop.  The  boy  with  his  immature  mind  and  his 
growing  body  is  certainly  entitled  to  a  little  time  for  rest  and 
play.  If  we  wish  him  to  be  loyal,  we  must  not  deny  him  the 
pleasures  and  recreation  of  his  evening  hours.  If  education 
pays  at  all,  and  it  certainly  does,  any  corporation  can  well  afford 
to  pay  its  apprentices  for  the  time  spent  in  school,  two  hours  a 
day,  two  days  a  week. 

The  principal  subjects  taught  in  our  school  rooms  are  me- 
chanical and  free-hand  drawing,  shop  arithmetic,  simple  busi- 
ness letter  writing  and  the  elements  of  mechanics,  these  being 
varied  for  the  particular  trades,  and  for  the  individual  boy,  and 
so  far  as  possible  correlated  with  the  work  the  boy  is  doing  in 
the  shop.  Our  school  Instructors  keep  in  constant  touch  with 


42  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

the  shop.  With  one  or  two  exceptions  our  School  Instructors  are 
graduates  of  technical  colleges  who  have  also  served  an  appren- 
ticeship, either  regular  or  special.  They  must  be  prepared  to 
answer  the  innumerable  questions  raised  by  the  boys  regarding 
all  shop  subjects  as  well  as  those  of  a  purely  technical  nature. 
In  fact,  we  encourage  the  boys  to  ask  questions  concerning  any- 
thing they  do  not  understand.  If  the  Instructor  cannot  answer 
them  at  once,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  he  is  in  a  position  to  find 
out,  for  we  have  free  access  to  any  information  available  in  any 
of  our  mechanical  offices. 

All  the  instruction  in  the  school  room  is  individual.  There 
is  no  massing  of  the  boys  in  classes.  A  powerful  Clydesdale 
and  a  hgh-bred,  spirited  race  horse  do  not  make  a  very  good 
team,  and  yet  this  is  what  the  public  schools  are  doing.  Each 
progresses  according  to  his  ability.  We  have  our  own  printer 
and  an  up-to-date  press,  and  prepare  and  print  our  own  lesson 
sheets.  These  are  issued  to  the  various  schools  from  our  head 
office  at  Topeka.  They  are  in  loose  leaf  form  so  that  they  may 
be  revised  or  added  to  as  occasion  arises. 

Just  recently  our  apprentice  school  rooms  were  opened  to 
all  employees  in  search  of  mechanical  information  and  bulletins 
were  issued  inviting  the  enginemen  to  visit  the  school  rooms  and 
call  upon  the  Instructors  for  information  desired.  This  is  a 
decided  compliment  to  our  system.  We  aim  to  make  each  of 
these  school  rooms  an  emporium  of  mechanical  information  and 
are  constantly  widening  their  scope.  Eventually  our  instruc- 
tion will  doubtless  be  extended  to  take  in  other  departments  of 
the  road. 

Much  of  the  success  of  any  kind  of  instruction  depends  on 
the  Instructor  himself.  No  expense  should  be  spared  in  getting 
the  best  men  available.  The  duties  of  the  Instructor  are  as  dif- 
ficult as  they  are  important,  as  full  of  trials  and  hardships  as 
of  blessings  for  those  whom  he  influences.  He  must  be  a  keen 
judge  of  human  nature,  a  man  who  is  deeply  interested  in  boys 
and  young  men,  capable  of  taking  a  brotherly  interest  in  their 
sports  and  pastimes  as  well  as  in  their  work ;  he  must  be  clean 
morally,  must  be  just,  impartial  and  honest,  must  be  a  disciplin- 
arian in  the  broadest  sense,  must  be  firm  and  fair ;  he  must  ask 
nothing  but  what  is  possible  and  right,  and  then  insist  on  getting 
it.  In  addition  to  this  he  must  have  patience  and  ability  to  in- 
struct, and  be  capable  of  placing  himself  in  the  position  of  the 
student  in  order  to  put  the  subject  before  that  student  in  an 
intelligent  and  understandable  manner.  In  short  he  must  be 
able  to  think  with  them,  feel  with  them,  work  with  them. 

No  man  can  be  truly  successful  as  an  Instructor,  either  in 
the  shop  or  the  class  room,  no  matter  how  thorough  his  tech- 
nical and  theoretical  education  may  have  been,  unless  he  has 
worked  as  they  have  worked,  sweat  as  they  have  to  sweat,  un- 
less he  knows  their  likes  and  dislikes,  their  desires  and  emotions, 
their  struggles  and  ambitions,  and  through  this  knowledge  and 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  43 

sympathy  be  able  to  feel  with  them  in  their  joys  and  in  their 
sorrows,  thus  winning  their  friendship  and  their  confidence, 
which  is  the  most  valuable  asset  any  instructor  of  men  and  boys 
can  have.  He  should  not  only  have  sufficient  knowledge  and 
skill  to  command  the  confidence  of  the  apprentice  and  all  with 
whom  his  work  brings  him  in  contact,  but  must  also  know  how 
to  impart  his  knowledge  to  others.  He  must  not  be  a  mere  ma- 
chine, but  a  living  soul,  obedient  to  the  light  of  a  cultivated  intel- 
ligence and  the  impulses  of  a  generous  heart.  He  must  love 
boys  in  general  and  have  a  fatherly  love  for  the  particular  boys 
in  his  charge,  yet  be  able  to  sympathize  as  one  of  them  in  their 
games,  and  sports,  their  joys  and  their  troubles.  He  must 
make  an  individual  study  of  each  boy  and  learn  just  what  help 
each  one  needs  and  how  this  help  can  best  be  given.  He  must 
be  exceedingly  patient  and  self-sacrificing,  showing  his  love  and 
care  most  conscientiously  toward  those  who  need  it  most,  not  the 
most  deserving,  but  the  most  needy.  He  should  become  familiar 
with  each  boy's  home  life,  know  with  whom  he  associates  and 
how  he  spends  his  evenings ;  remembering  that  if  these  boys  are 
to  become  good  mechanics  and  loyal  employees  they  must  also 
be  honest  and  upright  citizens.  The  Instructor's  success  or  fail- 
ure will  depend  very  largely  on  his  own  personality,  on  his  own 
manner  and  temper,  on  his  own  life  and  character,  on  the  ideals 
he  impresses  by  his  own  spirit  and  example. 

To  be  successful  an  Apprentice  School  worth  while  must  be 
in  charge  of  one  efficient  head.  This  Supervisor  of  Appren- 
tices should  possess  most  if  not  all  the  qualifications  just  men- 
tioned as  requisite  for  the  Instructor.  In  addition  he  should 
possess  qualities  of  leadership,  be  able  to  organize  his  depart- 
ment, select  his  Instructors,  and  properly  direct  them  in  their 
work.  He  cannot  be  a  skilled  mechanic  in  all  the  trades,  but  he 
should  know  the  essentials  of  the  make-up  of  a  machinist,  a 
boiler  maker,  a  cabinet  maker,  or  painter.  He  should  be  able  to 
adjust  misfits  and  must  interest  all  the  shop  officials  in  the  boys. 
He  should  have  the  unlimited  backing  of  the  management  and 
be  given  sufficient  authority  to  bring  about  the  necessary 
changes  in  handling  shop  matters,  these  changes  possibly  in- 
fringing on  certain  long-cherished  prerogatives  of  other  shop 
officers.  Yet  in  doing  this  he  should  have  tact  to  carry  out 
these  ideas,  without  friction  or  ill  feeling.  To  do  this  he  must 
be  a  good  mixer  and  know  how  to  get  what  he  goes  after.  He 
should  be  able  to  outline  the  course  of  instruction,  and  above  all 
should  inspire  the  best  work  of  his  Instructors  and  be  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  be  heartily  loved  by  all  the  apprentices.  Upon  his 
head,  whether  he  be  mechanic  or  pedagogue,  rests  to  a  great 
extent  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  He  must  be  an  educator 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  word.  You  say  it  is  difficult  to  find 
such  a  man.  I  agree  with  you,  but  the  Santa  Fe  has  one  such, 
and  other  roads  might  be  likewise  fortunate  if  they  made  suffi- 
cient effort. 


44  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

The  Santa  Fe  Apprentice  System  has  always  had  the  Unlim- 
ited backing  of  the  management.  Everyone  from  the  President 
down  is  proud  of  the  system  and  ready  to  boost  it  forward. 
The  local  schools  are  the  pride  of  each  Master  Mechanic.  They 
are  the  show  places  for  visitors.  Shortly  after  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  system,  two  or  three  Master  Mechanics  were  trans- 
ferred from  points  having  schools  to  those  without,  and  their 
first  request  was  for  an  Apprentice  School  and  Apprentice  Di- 
rectors at  their  new  location.  At  the  head  of  the  Mechanical 
Department  of  the  system  is  Mr.  John  Purcell,  a  man  who  served 
his  own  apprenticeship  in  our  shops  and  has  risen  step  by  step 
to  his  present  position  of  responsibility.  Remembering  his  own 
early  struggles,  he  it  was  who  some  twenty  years  ago  established 
the  first  railroad  apprentice  school,  to  which  I  have  already 
referred.  He  has  a  warm  spot  in  his  heart  for  all  the  employees 
of  the  road  but  is  especially  proud  and  considerate  of  two  classes 
in  particular,  namely,  the  old  employee  who  has  given  the  best 
years  of  his  life  to  the  road  and  stayed  by  it  in  adversity  as  well 
as  in  prosperity;  and  second,  the  apprentice  boy  who  has  con- 
centrated his  young  life  to  preparation  for  its  service. 

Upon  the  care  taken  in  the  selection  of  these  young  men, 
much  of  the  succes  of  the  undertaking  depends..  If  the  boy  has 
no  special  fitness  or  liking  for  his  chosen  trade,  it  is  a  crime 
against  his  young  life  and  a  "dead  loss"  to  the  company  to  em- 
ploy or  keep  him  as  an  apprentice.  Our  applicants  are  care- 
fully examined  by  both  school  and  shop  Instructors,  the  final 
decision  as  to  the  boy's  employment  resting  with  the  chief  officer 
at  each  local  shop.  So  well  pleased  is  each  apprentice  with  the 
opportunities  given  him  that  he  is  a  living  advertisement  for  us. 
We  have  no  trouble  getting  boys  even  at  the  remote  desert 
shops.  In  fact,  at  most  of  our  shops  we  have  over  a  year's  sup- 
ply on  our  waiting  list.  The  physical  examination  given  by 
our  company  surgeon  is  such  that  only  boys  of  good  physique 
can  be  employed.  Since  we  are  preparing  men  for  a  lifetime  of 
service,  we  deem  it  well  to  start  with  boys  sound  in  body  as  well 
as  in  mind. 

The  amount  of  schooling  required  depends  largely  on  the 
boy's  mentality  and  the  opportunities  he  has  had.  We  have  had 
our  best  results  from  boys  with  an  eighth  grade  education. 
The  high  school  boy  is  apt  to  leave  us  for  a  job  in  a  dry  goods 
store  where  he  can  wear  his  white  collar  regardless  of  the  pros- 
pects ahead. 

Four  years  ago  a  boy,  very  small  for  his  sixteen  years,  came 
into  our  office  with  a  note  from  the  Superintendent  of  Shops 
requesting  that  he  be  examined  for  a  painter  apprentice.  He 
was  small,  illy  dressed,  poorly  fed,  undeveloped,  restless,  timid, 
and  dumb,  but  nothing  vicious  or  bad  looking  about  him.  He 
was  about  the  least  promising  looking  boy  that  ever  entered  the 
office.  He  seemed  to  possess  neither  physical  nor  mental  fitness 
for  the  trade.  The  natural  outcome  would  have  been  to  reject 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  45 

the  applicant,  but  something  in  the  boy  attracted  our  interest 
and  our  sympathy.  With  considerable  coaxing  and  coaching  we 
found  out  that  his  father  was  worthless,  a  drunkard,  and  had 
deserted  the  family.  His  poor,  crippled  mother,  unable  to  stand 
without  the  aid  of  a  crutch,  was  endeavoring  to  make  them  a 
scanty  living  by  taking  in  washing.  "Yes",  he  said,  "there 
are  some  brothers,  some  little  fellows." 

We  could  not  reject  that  little  boy.  We  had  not  the  heart 
to  do  so.  We  decided  to  give  him  a  trial.  Three  months  later 
the  Instructors  reported  he  was  doing  fairly  well  in  shop  work, 
but  the  School  Instructors  were  still  exercising  that  characteris- 
tic which  made  Job  famous.  He  knew  his  alphabet  and  read 
a  few  words  of  one  syllable.  He  had  been  so  inhumanly  beaten 
by  an  unmerciful  father  that  his  very  nature  was  cowed.  The 
first  evidence  of  any  talent  or  interest  in  his  work  was  acci- 
dentally discovered.  On  the  under  side  of  a  piece  of  paper 
upon  which  he  was  supposed  to  be  writing  with  his  pencil,  he 
had  slyly  made  a  large  letter  "A"  of  Old  English  style,  shading 
and  illuminating  it  in  a  manner  that  would  have  been  a  credit 
to  one  whose  talent  had  been  trained  and  developed.  The  next 
day  he  uncovered  the  head  of  an  Indian  warrior  appropriately 
bedecked  in  his  feathery  headdress.  We  gave  him  some  work 
of  such  nature  in  the  schoolroom  daily.  His  interest  was 
aroused,  his  tongue  was  loosened,  his  mind  so  long  cramped  and 
unused  began  to  expand. 

That  was  four  years  ago.  Next  month  we  will  graduate 
him  as  a  journeyman  painter,  capable  of  doing  any  work  in 
painting  and  decorating  our  passenger  cars.  He  has  not  entirely 
ly  outgrown  the  cowed,  subdued  spirit  inflicted  by  his  brutal 
father,  and  never  will,  but  he  has  grown  in  body,  in  mind,  and 
intelligence,  and  has  been  a  blessing  and  comfort  to  his  mother 
and  the  little  fellows.  He  has  been  faithful  during  his  appren- 
ticeship, and  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  give  many  years  of 
faithful  service  to  us  as  a  man. 

Next  month  he  will  receive  a  diploma  which  will  be  the 
open  sesame  to  a  job  anywhere  which  may  need  painters. 
One  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars  in  cash  will  be  given  him 
as  a  reward  for  his  faithfulness,  and  this  will  go  toward  build- 
ing a  home  on  some  land  he  has  already  purchased  with  money 
saved  from  his  apprentice  wages. 

Closely  allied  to  the  selection  of  apprentices  is  our  proba- 
tionary period  of  six  months,  during  which  time  the  apprentice 
is  given  every  opportunty  to  prove  his  fitness.  During  this  per- 
iod he  is  closely  studied  by  our  Apprentice  Board,  which,  by  the 
way,  is  composed  of  the  General  Foreman,  the  Department 
Foreman,  the  Gang  Foreman,  the  Apprentice  Shop  Instructor 
and  the  Apprentice  School  Instructor.  The  members  of  this 
board  are  reminded  once  a  month  that  John  Smith  is  a  new  boy 
and  should  be  given  special  attention.  At  the  expiration  of  the 
six  months'  probationary  period  this  Apprentice  Board  meets 


46  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

and  jointly  passes  on  the  question  of  this  boy's  continuing  in  his 
trade.  Sometimes  they  recommend  transfer  to  another  trade 
for  which  the  boy  is  better  fitted.  Sometimes  they  recommend 
a  further  trial  of  a  few  months.  Sometimes  they  recommend 
the  boy's  dismissal.  If  they  decide  that  the  boy,  instead  of  be- 
ing fitted  to  become  a  mechanic,  should  be  a  lawyer,  or  a  doctor, 
or  a  merchant,  the  boy  is  kindly  told  that  he  is  wasting  his  time 
in  the  shop.  But  in  such  a  dismissal  the  boy  knows,  his  par- 
ents know,  his  friends  know,  and  the  Shop  management  knows, 
that  the  partialty  or  dislike  of  no  one  man  was  responsible  for 
this  action. 

In  passing,  I  might  mention  that  our  apprentices  are  guar- 
anteed a  full  day's  work  if  the  shops  work  at  all.  They  are 
given  wages  sufficiently  large  to  pay  necessary  living  expenses 
even  from  the  start.  These  wages  are  raised  each  six  months. 
Apprentices  are  never  suspended  for  spoiling  work  or  for  any 
other  cause.  If  necessary  to  punish  for  breach  of  discipline,  they 
are  penalized  a  few  hours  on  their  apprenticeship  time,  a  pun- 
ishment which  they  feel  severely.  This  rule,  however,  works 
both  ways.  The  boy  may  have  these  penalties  cancelled  by  sub- 
sequent good  behavior.  The  boys  are  encouraged  in  athletics 
and  in  all  kinds  of  wholesome  amusements.  We  have  our  base- 
ball, foot  ball,  and  basket  ball  teams  at  each  point,  these  teams 
competing  with  each  other  in  wholesome  sport.  At  Topeka  we 
have  an  apprentice  glee  club,  an  apprentice  orchestra,  and  a 
brass  band  of  three  dozen  pieces.  All  this  attention  to  per- 
sonal interests  makes  the  apprentices  contented  and  happy,  and 
promotes  loyalty  to  the  organization  which  is  loyal  to  them. 

On  graduation  apprentices  are  given  full  journeymen  rate 
and  encouraged  to  remain  in  the  service  of  the  company.  Of 
the  500  who  have  been  graduated  since  the  organization  of  the 
apprentice  schools,  66  2-3  per  cent,  are  still  in  the  service  of  the 
company.  Fifteen  per  cent,  have  already  stepped  out  of  the 
ranks  and  been  promoted  to  foremanship  or  other  positions  of 
responsibility.  The  management  has  issued  instructions  that 
in  case  of  vacancies  preference  is  to  be  given  to  our  apprentice 
graduates,  those  who  have  been  trained  and  educated  "Santa 
Fe  way".  Is  it  any  wonder  our  apprentices  and  graduates  love 
the  Santa  Fe,  any  wonder  why  they  are  staying  with  us  ? 

This  kind  and  considerate  treatment  has  had  a  very  whole- 
some effect  on  the  entire  shop  body.  The  good  feeling  has  been 
contagious  and  now  permeates  the  other  departments,  making 
a  better  esprit  de  corps  through  the  whole  shop.  There  is  less 
of  the  old-time  rawhiding  and  more  recognition  that  a  man  is  a 
man  no  matter  what  his  position.  We  teach  our  boys  that  the 
vocation  of  a  good  machinist  or  a  good  boiler  maker  is  as  honor- 
able a  calling,  and  often  much  better  paid,  than  that  of  lawyer 
or  doctor.  All  the  brains  of  the  country  are  not  confined  to  the 
Halls  of  Congress  nor  found  on  Wall  Street.  It  takes  just  as 
smart  a  man  to  be  a  good  mechanic  as  to  be  a  good  merchant  or 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  47 

banker.  We  teach  them  the  joy  of  work,  the  true  happiness  of 
work,  that  work  is  honorable  and  to  be  sought,  not  avoided,  that 
education  will  not  lessen  their  work,  but  will  increase  their 
opportunities  for  work  and  service.  All  work  is  sacred.  Is 
there  not  a  lesson  for  us  in  the  recollection  that  when  God  made 
Adam  He  immediately  put  him  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  to  dress 
and  to  keep  it,  and  later  when  He  gave  the  world  His  only  son, 
He  put  him  in  a  carpenter  shop  where  he  learned  a  trade,  and 
where  the  good  book  tells  us  that  knowledge  and  wisdom  came 
unto  him. 

Gentlemen,  I  would  urge  of  you  carefully  to  consider  this 
question  of  getting  young  people  into  occupations  for  which  they 
are  fitted,  and  then  seeing  that  they  are  given  a  chance  to  de- 
velop their  natural  talents. 

I  thank  you  for  your  attention  and  would  be  pleased  indeed 
to  have  you  visit  any  of  our  Apprentice  Schools  which  you  may 
be  near.  We  will  be  glad  to  show  you  what  we  have  and  to 
receive  any  suggestions  you  may  have  for  improving  our  system. 
I  have  with  me  some  samples  of  our  lesson  sheets,  also  some  of 
the  forms  used  in  handling  apprentice  matters  which  I  will  be 
glad  to  show  to  any  of  you  who  are  interested.  We  will  be  glad 
to  have  you  tell  us  of  improvements  we  could  make.  We  are  not 
standing  still,  but  are  always  in  search  of  something  better. 
Nothing  is  too  good  for  our  boys.  It  is  with  youth  that  we  are 
dealing.  Old  age  may  be  creeping  upon  us,  wrinkles  may  cover 
our  faces  and  gray  hairs  crown  our  heads,  but  the  young  men  of 
your  charge  are  of  the  springtime  of  life.  You  take  them  in 
charge  fresh  from  the  hands  of  their  Maker,  away  from  their 
monthers'  breast,  and  for  ten  years  or  more  they  are  yours, 
to  help  or  to  hinder,  to  bless  or  to  curse,  and  to  mold  or  mar 
their  precious  young  souls.  Enter  into  their  lives  and  help  them 
enter  into  the  real  world.  It  is  as  much  our  duty,  it  is  our 
sacred  duty,  to  help  make  their  characters,  their  morals,  their 
dispositions,  their  manners,  as  it  is  to  teach  them  to  spell  or  to 
write  or  to  run  a  machine  or  locomotive  or  to  build  a  car.  The 
average  boy  has  to  go  to  work  for  a  living  at  sixteen.  Are  you 
not  enough  interested  in  his  future  to  help  prepare  him  for  such 
a  livelihood?  By  so  doing  you  will  have  kindled  in  his  heart  a 
gratitude,  a  love,  which  he  will  carry  through  life. 


MR.  SCRUGHAM: 

We  take  this  opportunity  of  extending  our  thanks  to  the 
management  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  and  to  Mr.  Linn  for  the 
inspiration  which  comes  from  a  story  of  successful  achievement. 
The  results  attained  by  this  Company  are  remarkable.  I  will 
now  call  on  Mr.  J.  M.  Guild  of  Omaha,  representative  of  the 
Union  Pacific,  to  tell  of  the  work  of  his  Company. 


48  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 


SAFETY  FIRST  ON  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

BY 
J.  M.  GUILD,  Safety  Commissioner  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen:  Safety  First,  or  the  first 
duty  to  the  uninjured,  does  not  look  proper,  but  it  is,  and 
strange  to  relate,  it  has  come  to  take  a  place  and  fill  a  long-felt 
want  in  the  rank  and  file  of  the  railroads  of  the  United  States. 
Years  ago,  when  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  was 
organized,  and  the  Safety  Laws  were  passed,  it  was  thought  that 
at  last  the  solution  had  been  reached  to  reduce  the  number  of 
injured  and  killed  on  the  railroads  of  the  United  States.  After 
this  law  had  been  passed,  and  had  been  in  effect  for  a  few  years, 
and  the  inspections  were  being  made  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  it  was  found  that  instead 
of  decreasing,  accidents  were  increasing,  and  that  instead  of 
safety  things,  it  was  necessary  to  have  safety  men. 

Mr.  Ralph  C.  Richards,  General  Claims  Agent  of  the  C.  & 
N.  W.,  conceived  the  idea  of  inaugurating  the  Safety  Movement 
on  the  railroads  of  this  country.  Since  that  time  some  38  roads 
of  the  United  States  have  practically  adopted  this  organization, 
and  they  control  a  mileage  of  about  100,000  miles.  The  Union 
Pacific  started  their  Safety  Movement  one  year  and  eight 
months  ago.  Our  organization  is  very  similar  to  that  of  other 
railroads.  Our  central  committee,  our  four  division  committees 
and  56  local  committees  meet  every  month,  and  to-day  we  have 
received  over  two  thousand  suggestions,  75  per  cent,  of  which 
have  been  adopted  and  put  into  use.  The  Safety  movement  is  a 
movement  of  the  men.  It  was  necessary  to  make  them  feel  that 
it  was  for  their  interests  that  this  movement  was  being  pushed, 
and  that  it  was  the  men  and  not  the  officials  who  were  being 
killed  and  injured,  and  that  it  was  to  their  interest  to  take  an 
active  part  in  the  Safety  Movement.  I  have  come  to  this  meet- 
ing to  learn,  and  I  hope  that  the  echoes  of  this  Conference  will 
go  to  all  the  large  educational  institutions  of  this  country,  and 
that  the  people,  through  education,  will  be  made  to  feel  that  next 
to  saving  human  souls,  our  greatest  duty  toward  ourselves,  our 
fellowmen,  and  our  country,  is  saving  human  life. 


MR.   SCRUGHAM  : 

Safety  First  on  the  railroads  has  received  some  little  atten- 
tion. Let  us  now  consider  the  question  of  Safety  First  with 
the  Civil  Engineer.  I  will  call  on  Mr.  H.  P.  Boardman,  Professor 
of  Civil  Engineering  of  the  University  of  Nevada,  to  tell  us 
something  regarding  Safety  First  in  Civil  Engineering. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  49 


CIVIL  ENGINEERING  AND  SAFETY  FIRST 

BY 

H.  P.  BOARDMAN,  Professor  of  Civil  Engineering, 
University  of  Nevada 

In  these  days  of  specialization  the  terms  mechanical,  elec- 
trical, mining,  and  civil  engineering  are  all  very  broad  in  their 
meanings,  each  including  numerous  specialities.  Many  of  these 
special  branches  of  engineering  borrow  from  two  or  more  of  the 
above  named  general  divisions  and  some  introduce  new  features 
entirely  beyond  what  was  formerly  the  scope  of  any  of  these, 
such  as  chemical  engineering. 

Signal  engineering,  so  closely  allied  with  much  of  the  Safety 
First  movement,  is  a  good  illustration  of  one  that  borrows  from 
several  of  the  general  divisions  of  engineering,  in  other  words, 
shows  the  over-lapping  of  different  branches  of  engineering, 
which  is  so  common  in  practical  life. 

The  signal  engineer  practices  civil  engineering  when  he 
designs  and  constructs  many  of  his  structures.  He  draws  on 
mechanical  and  electrical  engineering  largely  for  the  design 
and  installation  of  the  operation  part  of  the  signal  and  inter- 
locking systems. 

Considering  civil  engineering  in  some  of  its  most  common 
phases  its  connection  with  Safety  First  is  mainly  in  relation 
to  statics  or  the  action  of  forces  on  and  within  structures  which 
are  practically  fixed  and  immovable,  or  which  ought  to  be. 

Mining  engineering  involves  danger  mainly  because  of  deal- 
ing with  underground  work  and  the  use  of  explosives,  and  also 
machinery.  Mechanical  and  electrical  engineering  touch  dan- 
ger mainly  in  connection  with  motion  of  machinery  or  electric 
current. 

This  is  a  swift  age;  so  things  causing  or  connected  with 
motion  attract  much  attention  and  naturally  so,  since  we  all 
have  to  move  or  get  run  over. 

Aside  from  ordinary  railroad  roadbed,  track,  and  other 
structures  of  various  kinds  along  a  railroad,  all  of  which  con- 
cern the  civil  engineer,  we  have  bridges  and  tunnels  which  are 
more  spectacular  and  always  involve  danger  to  men  during  con- 
struction. After  construction  they  should  be  safe  for  the  use 
of  the  traveling  public  and  I  think  generally  are  so,  barring 
accidents  due  to  the  moving  things  which  pass  over  and  through 
them. 

Take  the  bridge  for  instance.  You  have  doubtless  all  heard 
the  expression  "factor  of  safety"  as  applied  to  the  design  of 
structures.  Some  choose  to  term  it  "factor  of  ignorance",  but 
I  resent  the  use  of  that  expression,  not  because  we  know  all 


50  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

about  the  materials  of  construction,  but  because  to  be  safe  we 
must  stop  considerably  short  of  stresses  which  would  mark  the 
first  beginnings  of  failure.  This  is  true  even  in  the  use  of 
structural  steel,  a  comparatively  well  understood  material,  for 
it  has  been  shown  that  if  stresses  approach  the  elastic  limit  too 
closely  a  deterioration  results  from  a  great  many  repetitions  of 
the  application  of  such  stresses.  In  other  words,  it  is  possible 
to  wear  out  a  part  of  a  stationary,  stable  structure  which  was 
at  the  first  safe. 

The  day  I  first  arrived  in  Reno,  August  29,  1907,  the  great 
Quebec  bridge  failure  occurred,  causing  the  loss  of  more  than 
eighty  lives.  The  study  and  discussions  of  the  causes  of  that 
failure  served  to  show  bridge  engineers  several  things,  among 
which  were  the  following:  (1)  That  it  is  not  always  safe  to 
apply  what  has  seemed  good  standard  practice  in  small  struc- 
tures to  the  design  of  immense  structures  of  the  same  type; 
(2)  That  danger  sometimes  results  if  the  different  parts  of 
a  structure  are  not  built  sufficiently  robust  to  stand  the  abuse 
incident  to  some  rough  handling  in  transportation,  loading, 
unloading,  etc.  (3)  That  long  immunity  from  accidents  of  a 
certain  kind  may  lead  those  concerned  to  think  that  it  is  due  to 
overdoing  the  safety  precautions  and  that  they  might  well 
stretch  a  point  in  favor  of  economy  when  large  expenditure  is 
involved,  in  other  words,  decrease  the  customary  factor  of 
safety. 

Reinforced  concrete  building  failures  have  been  quite  com- 
mon in  the  last  fifteen  years,  indicating  a  chance  for  the  applica- 
tion of  Safety  First  by  engineers  and  architects  in  decreasing 
such  accidents. 

Failures  of  dams  have  been  quite  frequent  for  many  years. 
These  structures,  together  with  bridge  foundations,  sub-aqueous 
tunnels,  canals,  and  all  similar  engineering  works  involving  diffi- 
culties inherent  in  attempts  to  utilize,  control,  or  combat  water, 
present  the  most  fascinating  of  civil  engineering  problems  to 
me. 

Every  structure  of  these  types  is  a  problem  by  itself  re- 
quiring careful  local  study  and  the  exercise  of  judgment  based 
on  experience  if  the  proper  solution  is  reached  resulting  in 
safety  and  economy.  The  study  of  dam  failures  and  the  criti- 
cism of  design  and  construction  of  the  structures  that  fail  is 
going  to  lead  to  safer  dams  in  the  future.  I  think  the  tendency 
is  growing  to  build  more  of  the  types  of  dams  that  utilize  water 
pressure  to  add  to  the  stability  of  the  structure,  instead  of  the 
solid  gravity  type  which  "bucks"  against  the  thrust  of  the  water 
by  presenting  a  vertical  or  nearly  vertical  surface  to  it. 

So  far,  most  of  the  danger  discussed  has  had  reference  to 
the  finished  product  of  civil  engineering  and  due  generally  to 
faulty  design  or  construction,  or  both. 

Besides  this  is  the  danger  of  accidents  during  construction. 
Here  is  where  an  application  of  Safety  First  principles  can  often 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  51 

work  wonders.  Since  the  plant  of  machinery  and  other  equip- 
ment used  for  construction  purposes  is  erected  only  for  tem- 
porary use  in  one  place,  there  is  a  tendency  to  take  chances  and 
not  make  things  as  secure  as  is  the  custom  in  permanent  plants 
using  the  same  class  of  machinery  or  tools. 

This  is  especially  true  where  the  plant  is  moved  frequently 
from  one  job  to  another,  so  the  matter  of  taking  down,  moving, 
and  setting  up  again  is  a  large  item  of  expense.  All  of  these 
operations  present  many  chances  of  accident  and  also  tend  to 
wear  out  and  rack  to  pieces  the  machinery  being  moved,  such  as 
hoisting  engines,  derricks,  pumps,  etc.  This  excessive  "wear 
and  tear"  on  machinery  gives  cause  for  more  repairs  and  more 
close  attention  to  keep  it  in  working  order  than  is  required  of 
machinery  in  a  stationary  plant,  thus  causing  more  danger  of 
accidents.  The  labor  employed  on  such  temporary  construction 
work  is  to  a  very  large  extent  composed  of  transients,  apt  to  be 
reckless,  and  not  unused  to  taking  chances,  such  as  stealing 
rides  on  trains.  It  is  more  difficult  to  impress  such  men  with 
the  importance  of  Safety  First  than  is  the  case  with  steady  em- 
ployees, and  yet,  if  they  are  made  to  feel  that  the  contractor  or 
engineer  in  charge  is  consistently  planning  and  working  for 
their  safety,  some  of  them  will  catch  the  spirit  and  be  more 
careful,  at  the  same  time  giving  more  willing  and  better  service. 

Contractors,  as  well  as  engineers  and  others,  should  be 
interested  in  this  movement  for  safety. 

Other  civil  engineering  problems  and  the  last  I  will  refer  to 
are  those  touching  the  public  health.  Typhoid  fever  epidemics 
often  take  many  lives.  These  are  frequently  though  not  al- 
ways caused  by  contaminated  water  supplies.  When  a  com- 
munity is  aroused  to  such  dangers,  self-preservation  impels  that 
community  to  seek  a  better  water  supply.  Sewage  treatment  on 
the  other  hand  often  waits  until  the  demands  of  other  communi- 
ties below  or  state  laws  compel  action. 

Past  experience  in  Europe  and  in  the  more  populous  por- 
tions of  the  United  States  has  led  to  the  following  present  atti- 
tude of  some  of  the  best  sanitary  experts :  (1)  That  all  sewage 
which  must  eventually  reach  natural  streams  which  flow  through 
other  towns  and  cities  farther  down  should  be  treated  or  par- 
tially purified;  (2)  That  all  communities  taking  water  sup- 
plies from  such  streams  should  purify  that  water  before  dis- 
tributing it  for  use,  since  it  is  practically  impossible  without 
relatively  enormous  expense  for  the  towns  above  to  purify  sew- 
age to  such  an  extent  as  to  insure  safe  drinking  water  to  the 
town  below. 

In  closing  it  is  evident  that  the  average  civil  engineer  has 
ample  reason,  to  be  interested  in  the  Safety  First  Movement 
along  with  other  engineers.  It  is  an  altruistic  movement  and 
will  make  life  more  endurable,  so  the  general  public  should  be 
interested. 

Now,  if  the  automobile  drivers  will  only  fall  in  line  and 


52  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

practice  the  principles  of  Safety  First,  while  we  may  miss  some 
thrills,  perhaps  the  life  insurance  companies  will  reduce  their 
premium  rates. 


MR.  SCRUGHAM: 

In  recent  years  the  demand  for  organized  accident  preven- 
tion has  created  a  new  profession,  that  of  Safety  Engineer.  He 
is  the  man  who  supplies  the  "ounce  of  prevention"  in  the  modern 
industrial  establishment  and  he  has  supplanted  the  old-line  en- 
gineer who  furnished  the  "pound  of  cure".  One  of  the  most 
successful  Safety  Engineers  in  America  to-day  is  Mr.  C.  W. 
Price  of  the  Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission.  He  is  not  pres- 
ent to-day  but  his  address  will  be  read  by  Mr.  C.  W.  Whitney, 
representative  of  the  Natomas  Consolidated  Co.  of  California. 


ORGANIZED  ACCIDENT  PREVENTION 

BY 

C.  W.  PRICE,  Safety  Engineer 
Wisconsin   Industrial   Commission 

There  is  a  widespread  awakening  over  the  country  alon^r 
the  line  of  the  prevention  of  accidents.  This  movement  in  its 
present  organized  form  is  only  six  or  eight  years  old.  Until 
recently  information  has  not  been  available  for  manufacturers 
generally,  regarding  the  reductions  in  accidents  which  have  actu- 
ally been  accomplished,  and  regarding  the  ways  and  means  of 
promoting  safety  which  have  been  found  most  efficient  by  the 
companies  which  have  made  the  largest  reductions. 

The  Department  of  Labor  reports  that  in  the  United 
States  each  twelve  months  there  are  about  34,000  men,  women, 
and  children  killed  by  accident;  or  to  state  it  in  other  terms  so 
that  the  mind  can  grasp  these  appalling  figures,  there  is  one 
human  being  killed  every  fifteen  minutes  of  every  twenty-four 
hours  of  the  365  days  in  a  year.  The  report  further  states  that 
there  are  2,000,000  men,  women  and  children  injured  by  acci- 
dent every  year  in  the  United  States;  or  one  person  is  injured 
every  sixteen  seconds  of  each  twenty-four-hour  day.  Not  only 
are  manufacturers  awakening  to  the  enormous  waste  involved, 
but  the  public  in  general  is  becoming  tremendously  concerned  in 
regard  to  this  appalling  slaughter  and  in  regard  to  the  suffering 
and  deprivation  which  comes  to  the  homes  and  the  families  as  a 
result. 

The  United  States  Steel  Corporation  was  the  pioneer  in 
the  present  organized  Accident  Prevention  Movement  and  has 
without  question  made  the  largest  contribution  to  the  cause. 
This  corporation  began  to  study  the  question  of  accidents  and 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  53 

to  organize  safety  work  on  a  systematic  basis  some  ten  years 
ago,  but  the  most  remarkable  developments  have  come  in  the 
last  five  years.  The  officers  of  this  corporation  state  that  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years  they  have  made  a  reduction  in  accidents 
in  all  their  plants,  of  over  50  per  cent.  A  recently  published 
statement  by  this  company  shows  that  since  1906  there  have 
been  8801  men  saved  from  serious  injury  and  from  death  as  a 
result  of  the  safety  campaign. 

The  Illinois  Steel  Company,  which  is  a  subsidiary  com- 
pany of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  has  been  the 
leader  of  the  Safety  Movement  in  the  Central  West.  In  1906 
this  company  with  its  four  or  five  plants  and  some  20,000  em- 
ployes had  a  record  of  43  per  cent,  of  its  employees  who  were 
injured  and  lost  over  one  day  of  time.  The  record  of  1912 
shows  12  per  cent,  injured  and  losing  over  one  day  of  time. 
This  company  reports  that  a  total  reduction  of  66  2-3  per  cent, 
has  been  made  in  serious  injuries  and  deaths  since  1900. 

The  Wisconsin  Steel  Company,  which  is  a  subsidiary  com- 
pany of  the  International  Harveste/  Company,  employing  1300 
men,  since  1910  has  made  a  reduction  in  accidents  of  68  per 
cent. 

The  Jones  and  Laughlin  Company  of  Pittsuburg,  has  made 
a  reduction  in  accidents  of  over  70  per  cent. 

About  three  and  a-half  years  ago  the  Chicago  and  North- 
western Railway  Company  began  to  promote  safety  along  the 
lines  which  had  been  found  so  efficient  in  the  Steel  Corporation. 
A  recent  report  of  this  Company  reveals  the  fact  that  compara- 
ing  1913  with  1910  a  reduction  of  35!/2  per  cent,  in  employees 
killed  has  been  made,  and  a  reduction  of  25 1/2  per  cent,  in  em- 
ployee injured  has  been  made.  The  number  of  passengers  in- 
jured on  this  road  has  been  reduced  over  20  per  cent.  So  imme- 
diate and  striking  has  been  the  success  of  the  safety  work  of 
the  Northwestern  Railway  that  within  the  last  three  years 
every  great  railroad  in  the  United  States  has  adopted  the  general 
plan  of  the  Northwestern  Railway  and  is  now  vigorously  pro- 
moting safety.  Out  of  the  244,000  miles  of  railroad  in  the 
United  States  nearly  200,000  is  now  operating  under  organized 
Safety.  I  recently  received  a  letter  from  the  Frisco  Railroad 
which  stated  that  during  the  first  eleven  months  of  their  cam- 
paign for  safety  they  made  a  reduction  in  men  killed  of  33  per 
cent,  and  of  men  injured,  27  per  cent. 

The  American  Steel  Foundries,  which  includes  some  eight 
large  foundries  making  railroad  castings,  some  three  years  ago 
were  having  about  85  eye  injuries  a  month  from  chipping  cast- 
ings. They  adopted  a  very  efficient  type  of  goggle  for  their 
chippers  and  as  a  result  have  reduced  the  number  of  eye  injuries 
from  85  a  month  to  less  than  10  a  month.  They  have  also  made 
large  reductions  in  other  accidents. 

Harrison  Brothers  and  Company,  paint  manufacturers  in 
Philadelphia,  began  to  promote  safety  vigorously  something  over 


54  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

a  year  ago.     They  report  that  during  the  first  year  they  made 
a  reduction  of  68  per  cent,  in  accidents. 

The  most  remarkable  record  which  has  been  made  in  Wis- 
consin has  been  made  by  the  Fairbanks-Morse  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Beloit,  makers  of  gasoline  engines.  Comparing 
1912  with  1906  this  company  has  made  a  reduction  in  the  num- 
ber of  days  lost  for  which  compensation  would  have  to  be  paid 
(that  is,  the  number  of  days  over  seven  days)  of  72  per  cent. 

The  Chicago  Street  Railway  Company  has  within  the  last 
year  organized  a  Safety  Department.  I  recently  learned  that 
whereas  their  traffic  has  increased  11  per  cent,  during  the  last 
eight  months  they  have  made  a  reduction  of  10  per  cent,  in 
accidents. 

I  think  that  all  of  the  men  who  have  been  actively  engaged 
in  this  safety  campaign  over  the  country  will  agree  that  the 
experience  in  the  United  States  during  the  last  five  years  has 
demonstrated  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  it  is  possible 
to  reduce  by  one-half  the  number  of  days  lost  by  accident,  and  it 
is  possible  to  pevent  from  50  to  75  per  cent,  of  the  serious  injur- 
ies and  deaths.  Assuming  this  to  be  true  let  us  look  back  a 
moment  to  the  34,000  deaths  and  the  2,000,000  injuries  in  the 
United  States  which  are  reported  by  the  Department  of  Labor. 
A  reduction  of  one-half  in  deaths  would  mean  17,000  lives  saved 
every  year.  Let  us  say  that  about  12,000  of  them  are  men  with 
families,  which  would  mean  12,000  fewer  widows,  and  say 
36,000  fewer  orphans.  A  reduction  of  one-half  in  days  lost 
from  injury  would  mean  an  enormous  saving  in  suffering,  and 
an  enormous  saving  in  wages,  to  say  nothing  of  the  gain  in 
comforts  and  opportunities  to  the  families  in  ways  that  cannot 
be  computed. 

Out  of  the  five  years'  experience  in  the  various  industries 
which  have  made  the  largest  reductions  in  accidents  has  come 
this  striking  fact,  and  this  fact  is  agreed  to  by  practically  all  of 
the  safety  experts:  that  not  more  than  one-third  of  the  reduc- 
ions  which  have  actually  been  made  have  been  accomplished 
through  the  use  of  any  safeguard  or  any  mechanical  equipment, 
while  two-thirds  of  the  reductions  which  have  been  made  have 
been  accomplished  largely  through  organization  and  through 
education,  in  short,  through  reaching  the  workmen  and  securing 
their  co-operation. 

The  Statistical  Department  of  the  Industrial  Commmission 
of  Wisconsin  has  recently  made  up  a  chart  showing  causes  of 
accidents  in  the  industries  of  the  state — that  is,  accidents  which 
caused  disability  of  over  seven  days  or  resulted  in  death.  This 
chart  shows  7900  accidents  which  occurred  from  September  1, 
1911,  to  November  1,  1912,  a  period  of  thirteen  months.  2500 
accidents  occurred  on  machines  and  machine  parts;  that  is, 
occurred  at  points  where  it  might  be  possible  to  use  a  guard  and 
to  prevent  the  accident.  However,  it  goes  without  saying  that 
all  of  these  accidents  could  not  have  been  prevented  by  the  use 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  55 

of  guards.  5400  out  of  the  7900  accidents  occurred  in  ways 
where  it  is  almost  impossible  to  use  any  kind  of  a  mechanical 
safeguard.  A  large  number  of  accidents  were  caused  by  hot 
metals.  Another  group  of  accidents  were  caused  by  men  being 
hit  by  chips,  by  hoisted  and  moved  objects,  by  objects  falling 
from  piles,  etc.  Another  large  group  of  accidents  came  under 
the  head  of  "falls" — down  stairs,  from  ladders,  into  excava- 
tions, etc.  Slipping  and  stumbling  caused  many  accidents.  A 
considerable  number  of  men  wrere  injured  in  handling  various 
heavy  objects  and  in  dropping  heavy  objects.  The  largest  num- 
ber of  injuries  came  from  handling  various  kinds  of  tools. 

The  experience  of  all  men  who  have  studied  accident  pre- 
vention emphasizes  the  point  that  accidents  similar  to  these 
5400  accidents  can  be  prevented  only  by  reaching  the  workman 
on  the  job,  by  instructing  him  in  regard  to  how  accidents  hap- 
pen and  the  part  which  he  must  do  in  their  prevention — a  part 
which  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  employer  to  do.  A  recent  re- 
port of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  contains  a  state- 
ment to  the  effect  that  74  per  cent,  of  the  railroad  accidents  in 
the  United  States  during  the  past  year  resulted  from  violation 
of  simple  rules  of  safety. 

I  do  not  need  to  dwell  upon  the  importance  of  building  safe- 
guards to  cover  various  points  of  danger  on  machines.  Prac- 
tically all  manufacturers  are  now  familiar  with  this  phase  of 
safety  work  and  appreciate  its  importance.  In  Wisconsin,  for 
instance,  during  the  last  year  there  have  been  more  guards 
built  by  the  manufacturers  than  during  any  previous  five  years 
in  the  history  of  the  state.  Already  we  are  beginning  to  realize 
results.  During  the  months  of  April,  May,  June,  and  July  of 
1913  there  was  a  reduction  of  25.8  per  cent,  in  machine  accidents 
in  Wisconsin.  Comparing  1912  with  the  year  1907  a  reduc- 
tion of  50  per  cent  has  been  made  in  the  number  of  persons 
injured  and  killed  in  the  entire  state,  and  the  indications  now  are 
that  very  substantial  increases  will  be  made  over  this  record 
during  the  next  two  years. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  unless  the  employer  has  done 
considerable  work  along  the  line  of  covering  points  of  danger 
with  guards,  he  is  in  no  position  to  ask  his  workmen  to  co- 
operate in  promoting  safety.  He  must  first  show  his  owrn  good 
intentions  by  spending  the  money  and  doing  what  he  can  to 
protect  the  men.  The  experience  of  the  companies  which  have 
done  the  most  systematic  work  in  accident  prevention  has  dem- 
onstrated that  practically  every  point  of  danger  on  machines 
can  be  covered  with  a  simple  and  effective  guard  which  will 
prevent  the  men  from  being  accidentally  injured.  The  experi- 
ence of  these  companies  has  revealed  the  fact  that  practically 
all  of  the  best  guards  are  simple,  inexpensive,  and  are  designed 
and  made  by  experienced  foremen  and  machinists  who  are  close 
to  the  work  and  who  can  design  guards  which  will  be  easily 
adapted  to  the  situation. 


56  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Our  study  of  accidents  in  Wisconsin  has  brought  home  to 
us  in  the  most  striking  way,  how,  until  recently,  serious  acci- 
dents and  deaths  were  occurring  every  few  days  which  might 
have  been  prevented  by  some  simple  and  inexpensive  guard. 
For  instance,  one  manufacturer  protested  to  the  Commission 
against  an  order  requiring  that  a  set  screw  be  removed  or  cov- 
ered on  a  line  shaft  ten  feet  from  the  floor.  The  Commission 
replied  that  our  records  showed  that  accidents  happened  at 
such  points,  but  before  the  letter  reached  the  man,  or  at  least 
before  he  reached  the  set  screw,  one  of  his  best  men  was  caught 
on  the  set  screw  and  whipped  to  death.  An  expenditure  of  25 
cents  would  easily  have  made  that  accident  impossible.  Recent- 
ly a  boy  in  one  of  the  factories  went  up  the  ladder  and  walked 
across  a  platform  which  was  dark,  and  ran  into  a  large  belt  and 
was  swept  around  the  pully  and  killed.  Three  or  four  old  fence 
boards  nailed  together  and  placed  in  front  of  the  belt  would 
have  prevented  this  accident.  This  crude  guard  would  have 
cost  almost  nothing  except  a  few  minutes'  time. 

One  of  the  factories  having  a  large  number  of  men  working 
in  the  foundry  at  one  time  had  thirty  men  off  with  burned  feet. 
On  the  recommendation  of  the  Commission  they  adopted  the 
plan  of  furnishing  their  foundrymen  with  moulders'  gaiter 
shoes  at  cost.  At  the  end  of  six  months  they  reported  that 
they  had  made  a  reduction  in  the  burns  to  foundrymen  of  85 
per  cent. 

I  might  go  on  to  enumerate  dozens  of  similar  instances,  but 
it  is  unnecessary.  Every  manufacturer  who  has  made  a  study 
of  accidents  in  his  plant  is  fully  alive  to  the  necessity  of  cover- 
ing every  point  of  danger  with  a  guard  where  it  is  possible  to 
protect  the  workmen  by  such  guard,  and  when  every  point  of 
danger  which  can  been  covered  by  a  guard  has  been  covered, 
then  only  one-third  of  the  hazard  has  been  taken  care  of,  while 
two-thirds  still  remains  to  be  provided  for  by  reaching  the  men 
on  the  job. 

I  had  the  privilege  recently,  at  the  second  annual  meeting 
of  the  National  Council  for  Industrial  Safety  which  met  in  New 
York  in  October,  of  spending  three  days  with  some  150  expert 
safety  men  who  are  connected  with  large  companies  which  have 
done  successful  safety  work.  We  conducted  a  series  of  round 
tables  at  which  we  exchanged  our  experiences  in  an  informal 
way.  I  found  that  we  all  practically  agreed  on  the  essential 
points  of  the  ways  and  means  of  organizing  safety  in  the  plants 
and  of  reaching  the  workmen. 

I  wish  to  outline  briefly  the  form  of  safety  organization 
which  has  been  adopted  in  practically  all  the  manufacturing 
plants.  I  shall  include  only  those  features  which  are  considered 
indispensable  to  secure  good  results. 

1.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  men  at  the  top — the 
owner  of  the  business  and  the  manager,  must  be  in  sympathy 
with  the  movement  and  must  get  back  of  it,  and  as  stated  before 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  57 

must  have  convinced  the  workmen  of  their  own  intentions  by 
visible  signs. 

2.  The  next  step  is  to  appoint  what  is  called  a  "Central 
Committee",  composed  of  the  Superintendent  as  Chairman,  and 
four  or  five  high-grade  men  in  whom  the  owner  of  the  business 
has  confidence  and  in  whom  the  foreman  and  workmen  have 
confidence.     The  general   management   of  the   safety  work   is 
placed  in  the  hands  of  this  committee  and  all  important  matters 
are  referred  to  it  for  decision. 

3.  Practically  all  plants  have  found  it  necessary  to  ap- 
point one  man  whom  they  call  a  Safety  Inspector.     In  larger 
plants  he  gives  his  entire  time  to  the  work.     In  smaller  plants 
he  may  give  only  a  few  hours  each  day  to  the  work.     The  Safety 
Inspector  acts  as  the  secretary  of  the  central  committee  and 
looks  after  all  the  details  of  inspection,  all  reports,  and  keeps  in 
touch  with  the  various  committees  in  the  shop.     In  other  words, 
he  attends  to  the  details  which  busy  superintendents  and  fore- 
men cannot  and  will  not  attend  to. 

4.  It  has  been  found  indispensable  to  have  each  foreman 
make  an  inspection  of  his  department,  say  once  a  week,  and  sub- 
mit to  the  central  committee  a  written  report  regarding  the 
conditions.      This   plan  places  a  certain    definite    responsibility 
upon  each  foreman  and  gives  him  an  active  part  in  the  safety 
campaign.     Unless  he  is  given  a  part  to  do  he  is  apt  not  to  take 
an  active  interest. 

5.  In  the  majority  of  plants  the  superintendent  holds  a 
meeting  with  his  foreman  at  least  once  a  month  for  the  consid- 
eration of  safety.     The  superintendent  presides  at  these  meet- 
ings and  the  Safety  Inspector  acts  as  secretary.     A  number  of 
accidents  which  have  occurred  during  the  month  are  discussed 
and  ways  and  means  are  suggested  for  their  prevention.     A 
very  important  and  fruitful  subject  for  discussion  is  the  ways 
and  means  of  reaching  the  workmen.     It  is  always  found  that 
certain  foremen  are  more  successful  along  this  line  than  others, 
and  their  suggestions  serve  to  help  and  encourage  the  others. 
One  superintendent  told  me  that  in  one  hour's  time  each  month 
with  his  foremen  gathered  together  he  could  do  more  to  line 
them  up  and  keep  them  interested  and  enthusiastic  than  by  go- 
ing to  them  individually  every  day  in  the  month. 

6.  The  most  important  feature  of  organizing  safety  work 
has  been  workmen's  inspecting  committees.     In   each  depart- 
ment three  rank  and  file  workmen  are  appointed  to  serve  one, 
two  and  three  months  and  are  authorized  and  encouraged  to 
make  a  thorough  inspection  of  their  departments  once  a  week, 
or  at  least  once  a  month.     In  many  plants  they  also  investigate 
serious  accidents.     The  reports  of  these  committees  are  always 
made  in  writing  and  are  sent  to  their  immediate  foremen.     The 
foremen  attend  to  the  majority  of  suggestions  because  they  usu- 
ally cover  minor  points   of  danger    and    especially    of   careless 
practice.     The  complete  report  with  the  points  which  have  been 


58  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

attended  to,  checked  off,  is  then  pent  to  the  central  committee. 

I  have  made  a  careful  investigation  of  a  large  number  of 
plants  in  which  workmen's  committees  have  been  appointed  and 
in  every  case  they  have  been  successful  and  a  surprising  awak- 
ening of  interest  among  the  workmen  has  immediately  resulted. 
When  workmen  are  given  responsibility  and  an  active  part  to 
do  they  feel  that  they  have  been  recognized  and  they  at  once 
take  an  new  interest  and  a  new  attitude  toward  safety  work. 
The  experience  of  all  factories  with  which  I  am  familiar  re- 
veals the  fact  that  from  90  to  95  per  cent  of  the  suggestions 
which  these  committees  make  are  practical  and  are  accepted  by 
the  company.  As  the  work  progresses  the  workmen's  commit- 
tees more  and  more  report  cases  of  carelessness  and  ignorance 
on  the  part  of  the  workmen,  and  report  less  and  less  points  of 
danger  to  be  covered  with  guards.  The  500  workmen  on  the 
committees  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railway  have  re- 
ported, during  the  past  three  years,  over  6,000  points  of  danger. 
I  recently  learned  that  all  but  about  200  of  these  suggestions 
have  been  accepted  by  the  officers  of  the  road. 

In  the  work  of  inspecting  their  department  and  in  investi- 
gating their  accidents  the  men  learn  what  the  superintendents 
and  foremen  cannot  tell  them  and  make  them  believe,  namely : — 
that  two-thirds  of  the  accidents  are  beyond  the  power  of  the 
employer  or  the  foremen  to  prevent  and  must  be  prevented  by 
the  active  co-operation  of  the  workmen.  When  the  workmen 
on  these  committees  become  interested  and  become  informed  in 
regard  to  the  causes  of  accidents  through  their  experience  they 
become  the  best  teachers  and  boosters  in  safety  among  the 
workmen,  and  can  do  very  much  to  convince  the  workmen  of  the 
honest  attitude  of  the  employer,  and  especially  in  regard  to  the 
obligation  of  the  workmen. 

In  organizing  a  small  plant,  say  of  50  to  300  employees,  the 
same  fundamental  principles  apply  as  have  been  outlined  for  a 
large  plant.  While  the  features  of  the  plan  which  include  the 
superintendent  and  foremen  could  be  simplified,  and  in  many 
cases  should  be  simplified,  the  committees  of  the  workmen  are 
the  one  indispensable  feature  should  be  retained.  The  small 
plant  can  be  organized  in  exactly  the  same  way  and  just  as 
successfully  as  one  department  in  a  large  plant.  This  safety 
organization  could  be  just  as  successfully  adapted  to  a  mine  as 
to  a  factory. 

In  every  plant  the  instruction  of  workmen — especially  new 
men  and  non-English  speaking  men,  in  regard  to  danger,  is 
made  a  very  prominent  feature  of  the  safety  work.  So  impor- 
tant is  this  considered  that  in  some  of  the  larger  companies 
which  employ  a  large  number  of  non-English  speaking  men  an 
intrepreter  is  employed  who  devotes  his  whole  time  to  going 
among  the  new  men  and  talking  to  them  in  regard  to  what  the 
company  is  doing  to  protect  the  men,  the  part  which  the  work- 
men are  performing,  and  the  dangers  of  the  particular  work 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  59 

which  the  man  is  about  to  take  up.  In  this  work  of  instruction 
bulletin  boards,  books  of  rules,  signs,  shop  bulletins,  safety  but- 
tons, moving  pictures,  calendars  in  the  homes,  have  all  been 
found  valuable  in  keeping  the  safety  idea  uppermost  in  the 
minds  of  the  workmen  and  in  instructing  them  in  regard  to  what 
they  can  do  to  protect  themselves. 

The  Illinois  Steel  Company  has  adopted  the  plan  in  all  of  its 
plants,  of  giving  some  small  token  such  as  a  watch  charm  or 
pocket  comb  to  each  workman  in  a  department,  in  which  depart- 
ment no  accident  has  occurred  which  causes  a  disability  of  over 
one  day  or  over  seven  days.  The  plan  has  brought  surprising 
results  because  the  workmen  feel  that  they  have  been  recognized 
and  rewarded  for  the  part  which  they  did  in  making  the  record 
for  the  department. 

The  introduction  of  the  safety  movement  into  a  plant  does 
not  mean  the  addition  of  more  red  tape  or  the  imposition  of  a 
cumbersome  system  which  will  become  a  burden,  but  it  means 
just  what  a  manufacturing  organization  means —  a  systematic 
and  orderly  and  efficient  way  of  taking  care  of  a  difficult  prob- 
lem which  has  heretofore  not  been  taken  care  of  in  a  thorough- 
going manner.  It  means  that  a  new  force  has  been  introduced 
into  the  plant  which  will  keep  up  the  interest  and  enthusiasm. 
During  the  last  year  the  majority  of  large  industries  in  Wiscon- 
sin have  worked  out  safety  organizations  and  in  every  case  there 
has  resulted  an  immediate  awakening  of  interest  and  a  reduc- 
tion of  accidents  within  the  first  few  months.  I  recently  took 
the  records  of  fifteen  companies  in  the  State  which  had  adopted 
safety  organizations  and  found  that  for  the  months  of  July  and 
August,  1913,  they  had  reported  40  per  cent,  fewer  days  lost  on 
account  of  injury  than  for  the  corresponding  months  in  1912. 
While  these  figures  are  only  tentative  they  are  a  fair  indication 
of  what  may  be  accomplished. 

One  of  the  most  encouraging  features  of  this  whole  cam- 
paign of  organized  safety  work  is  that  when  once  the  manufac- 
turer organizes  his  plant  and  secures  the  active'  co-operation  of 
his  workmen  he  is  so  pleased  with  the  results  that  he  never  goes 
back  to  the  old  methods  but  in  every  case  goes  forward  with 
increasing  interest. 

I  think  the  rapid  progress  which  the  Safety  Movement  is 
now  making  in  the  United  States  is  largely  attributable  to  the 
fact  that  manufacturers  are  learning  of  the  remarkable  results 
which  have  been  secured  in  various  plants  by  systematic  efforts, 
and  are  becoming  familiar  with  the  details  of  safety  organiza- 
tion. In  every  plant  with  which  I  am  familiar  where  systematic 
safety  work  has  been  done  it  has  resulted  in  an  improved  manu- 
facturing organization  and  in  every  case  has  resulted  in  a  very 
substantial  saving  in  money.  Judging  from  my  investigations 
I  should  say  that  any  company  which  will  properly  organize  and 
promote  safety  may  realize  a  dividend  of  at  least  25  per  cent,  on 


60  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

the  money  invested.     I  know  of  plants  which  are  realizing  50 
per  cent,  on  the  investment. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  most  manufacturers  are 
humanitarian  in  their  attitude  toward  their  workmen  and  do 
not  wish  to  see  their  workmen  killed  or  injured,  but  if  com- 
bined with  this  feeling  there  goes  the  realization  that  safety 
work  turns  out  to  be  good  business  organization,  we  have  two 
powerful  motives  which  combined  give  us  almost  a  certain  assur- 
ance that  within  a  few  years  all  of  the  manufacturing  plants  in 
the  United  States  will  be  doing  efficient  safety  work  and  very 
large  reductions  will  be  made  in  the  number  of  men,  women  and 
children  who  are  killed  and  injured. 


MR.  SCRUGHAM: 

We  will  next  call  upon  a  man  who  has  had  much  to  do  with 
the  upbuilding  of  the  great  southern  desert  country  of  Nevada, 
wherein  are  situated  the  rich  mines  of  Tonopah  and  Goldfield. 
I  have  the  honor  of  introducing  Mr.  W.  D.  Forster,  Traffic  Man- 
ager of  the  Tonopah  and  Goldfield  Railroad. 


SAFETY  FIRST  ON  RAILROADS. 
BY 

W.  D.  FORSTER,  Traffic  Manager  Tonopah  &  Goldfield  R.  R. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: 

At  the  outset  I  wish  to  congratulate  those  responsible  for 
this  meeting  on  the  very  successful  culmination  of  their  efforts. 
It  must  indeed  be  extremely  gratifying  to  these  gentlemen  when 
they  realize  the  attention  this  very  important  subject  is  receiv- 
ing, as  symbolized  by  the  large  audience.  We  railroad  people 
see  much  good  resulting  from  this  happily  conceived  meeting ;  it 
affords  us  to  exchange  views  on  subjects  in  which  we  are  vitally 
interested  and  enable  us  to  reach  the  public,  to  whom  we  look 
with  much  hope  as  a  strong  ally  in  the  important  movement  of 
Safety  First. 

The  gentlemen  speaking  on  the  Safety  First  subject,  who 
have  preceded  me,  have  so  thoroughly,  so  learnedly,  and  so 
minutely  dissected  the  case  that  it  would  seem  that  there  was 
very  little  left  for  me  to  say.  There  are,  however,  one  of  two 
points  that  were  not  appropriated  by  my  predecessors,  upon 
which  it  will  be  my  privilege  and  pleasure  to  address  you. 

It  is  a  fitting  occasion,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  extend  to  a  rail- 
road company,  one  in  which  every  Nevadan  takes  much  pride, 
one  that  is  so  closely  interwoven  with  the  present  prosperity  and 
future  welfare  of  our  State  that  we  claim  it  as  our  own,  the 
great  Southern  Pacific  Company,  our  sincere  congratulations 
upon  the  proud  position  it  has  attained  in  the  Safety  First 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  61 

Movement.  There  are  a  number  of  this  company's  officials  and 
employees  in  our  audience,  and  I  say  to  these  gentlemen  that 
they  have  every  reason  to  be  extremely  proud  of  that  great 
transportation  machine  of  which  they  are  a  part. 

The  E.  H.  Harriman  Gold  Medal  was  awarded  by  the 
American  Museum  of  Safety  to  the  Southern  Pacific  Compnay 
"For  the  utmost  progress  in  safety  and  accident  prevention  dur- 
ing the  year  ended  June  30,  1913."  During  the  past  five  years 
the  Southern  Pacific  Company  has  operated  over  10,000  miles 
of  railroad  without  a  single  fatality  to  a  passenger  through 
collision,  derailment,  or  other  train  accident, — truly  a  wonder- 
ful achievement  in  railroad  operation. 

While  Federal  enactments  have  to  date  contributed  largely 
to  the  elimination,  or  rather  the  lessening  of  the  frightful  toll  of 
human  life  in  railroad  operations,  there  are  some  things  yet  to 
be  accomplished  by  the  railroads,  earnestly  assisted  by  the  pub- 
lic, which  will  materially  lessen  the  death  and  injured  list. 

The  Safety  Appliance  Act,  the  Hours  of  Service  Law,  the 
Boiler  Inspection  Law,  the  Ash  Pan  Law  and  others,  were  not 
founded  merely  upon  sentiment,  and  were  not  enacted,  as  some 
people  think,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  imposing  additional  and 
unnecessary  expense  on  the  carriers,  but  were  prompted  by  a 
humanitarian  feeling  which  is  not,  nor  can  be  measured  by  the 
commercial  standard  of  money.  The  results,  as  the  years  roll 
by,  are  not  only  gratifying  but  confirm  the  wisdom  of  those  who 
build  on  equity  and  fellow  love. 

Engine  headlights  of  adequate  lighting  force,  to  insure  the 
necessary  service,  are  an  element  of  safety  and  are  twin  sisters 
to  the  block  signals  and  yard  switch  lights ;  each  contributes  its 
quota  to  the  safety  movement,  which  in  the  main  is  the  one  big 
problem  in  railroad  operations. 

The  Block  Signal  and  Train  Control  Board  inspection  re- 
port during  1913,  among  other  things,  says:  "Nowhere  in  the 
world  have  appliances  for  safeguarding  railroad  transporta- 
tion been  so  highly  developed  as  in  this  country." 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  inflict  upon  you  an  array  of  statis- 
tics, but  in  order  to  present  this  matter  in  an  analytical  light, 
I  crave  your  indulgence  of  a  few  figures.  Deplorable  as  is  the 
annual  casualty  list  of  railways — and  no  class  regrets  it  as  much 
as  the  railroad  managers  themselves — there  is  the  bright  ray  of 
hope  in  the  form  of  improvement,  brought  about  by  the  Safety 
First  Movement,  which  has  been  inaugurated  on  all  important 
roads,  and  which  is  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  every  railroad 
head  to-day.  Over  53  per  cent,  of  the  total  killed  on  the  rail- 
roads in  this  country  during  1913  were  trespassers,  that  is,  per- 
sons who  had  no  connection  with  the  railroad  either  as  opera- 
tives or  passengers,  but  who  were  totally  disinterested  individu- 
als. Now,  what  possible  reason  or  excuse  can  be  advanced  for 
the  slaughter  of  this  number  of  people?  None  whatever.  It 
is  in  the  nature  of  wholesale  slaughter  and  entirely  beyond  the 


62  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

province  of  any  mechanical  device  to  remedy. 

The  railroads  are  not  pleading  guilty  to  this  red  indictment. 
This  human  loss  is  not  upon  their  heads.  Think  of  it,  over  53 
per  cent,  of  the  total  killed  were  persons  who  had  no  business  to 
be  on  the  railroad  property — trespassers.  To  those  who  will 
observe,  it  is  quite  obvious  where  the  fault  lies  and  where  we 
must  look  for  a  remedy.  The  human  equation,  the  human  ele- 
ment, can  effect  a  remedy,  but  only  through  two  possible  chan- 
nels :  One,  that  the  public  get  the  Safety  habit  as  the  railroad 
has  it ;  the  other,  means  the  co-operation  of  the  public  to  the  end 
that  laws  be  enacted  to  prevent  trespassing. 

Very  few  states  have  laws  specifically  directed  against  tres- 
passing on  railroad  tracks,  and  those  that  are  in  effect  are  of 
such  a  mild  form  as  to  invite  constant  violation.  They  are 
rarely,  if  ever,  enforced,  but  strong  laws  covering  the  matter 
can  be  enacted  and  can  be  enforced.  The  carriers  have  very 
little  trouble  with  the  Federal  law  covering  the  breaking  of 
seals  on  freight  cars;  and  what  can  be  accomplished  in  that  can 
be  accomplished  by  or  through  a  proper  law  honestly  enforced, 
covering  trespassing  on  railroad  property. 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  not  conceivable  that  the  railroads 
are  anxious  to  kill  and  maim  people;  apart  from  the  economic 
waste  involved  in  such  a  performance,  it  is  expensive,  and  for 
that,  if  for  no  other  reason,  sound  business  economy  would 
frown  on  this  deplorable  human  waste. 

The  amount  paid  by  railroads  for  injury  to  persons  during 
1912  was  $27,640,851,  and  the  amount  paid  for  claims  on  ac- 
count of  loss  and  damage  to  freight  caused  through  wrecks  was 
$34,197,285,  totaling,  $61,838,186,  or  2.20  per  cent,  of  the  earn- 
ings. Think  of  such  a  hugh  economic  waste.  Why,  this 
amount  has  a  borrowing  capacity,  on  the  basis  of  6  per  cent,  in- 
terest of  over  one  billion  dollars ;  and  don't  you  think  at  this 
period  of  tight  money  that  the  railroad  would  gladly,  in  fact, 
fairly  move  heaven  and  earth  to  save  this  money  if  they  could? 
Yes,  sir,  laying  aside  for  the  moment  the  human  element,  the 
commercial  necessity  would  prompt  every  railroad  manager  to 
eliminate  this  waste. 

The  many  thousand  miles  of  expensive  block  signals,  the 
many  thousands  of  protected  crossings,  the  large  and  expensive 
mileage  of  elevated  approaches  to  congested  terminals,  entailing 
as  they  do  an  enormous  outlay  in  money,  all  bear  proof  of  the 
desire  of  the  railways  to  protect  their  patrons  and  their  pat- 
rons' goods  entrusted  to  their  care,  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  many  millions  of  this  expense  were  voluntarily  contracted 
by  the  railroads  themselves.  The  many  thousand  miles  of  block 
signals,  costing  many  millions  of  dollars,  is  not  the  result  of  legal 
requirements,  but  on  the  contrary  resulted  from  the  voluntary 
action  of  the  railroads,  thus  proving  their  foresight  and  initia- 
tive, backed  by  the  courage  to  spend  prodigious  sums  to  protect 
and  safeguard  human  life  and  public  property. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  63 

It  is  apparent  from  statistics  of  railway  casualties  that  less 
than  one-twelfth  are  in  any  way  due  to  causes  that  can  be  reme- 
died by  mechanical  appliances  for  the  protection  of  trains.  The 
other  eleven-twelfths  results  from  causes  common  to  all  condi- 
tions and  occupations  under  the  sun.  In  one  country  accidents 
to  agriculturists  take  precedence;  in  another,  those  who  go 
down  to  the  sea  in  ships  are  the  most  numerous  victims. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  number  of  employees,  the 
number  of  passengers  carried,  both  for  the  year  and  for  one 
mile,  the  number  of  tons  of  freight  handled  and  the  increase 
in  rail  mileage,  single,  double  and  side  tracks,  the  number  of 
killed  and  injured  on  the  railroads  is  decreasing. 

Compared  with  European  railroads,  the  number  of  passen- 
gers killed  on  American  roads  for  1912  was  only  half  as  many, 
and  less  than  14  per  cent,  more  employees,  although  our  rail- 
road employees  operated  20  per  cent,  more  miles  of  road  and  54 
per  cent,  more  units  of  traffic. 

The  causes  of  loss  of  life  and  damage  to  and  loss  of  property 
through  train  operations  are  many.  Train  collisions  and  derail- 
ments are  the  principal  contributors,  and  condition  of  track  and 
speed  of  trains  the  disease.  Having  thoroughly  diagnosed  the 
symptoms,  what  remedy  to  apply  either  for  partial  or  complete 
extermination  is  the  cause  of  much  loss  of  sleep  and  the  addi- 
tion of  many  gray  hairs  to  the  railroad  managers  at  this  very 
moment. 

I  realize  that  it  is  almost  revolutionary  to  advocate  Gov- 
ernmental control  over  the  speed  of  passenger  trains;  but  it  is 
coming.  After  all,  we  are  not  in  such  a  great  hurry  when  trav- 
eling as  we  imagine  we  are.  The  principal  object  sought  by 
every  railroad  manager  should  be  Safety.  To  reach  the  desired 
goal,  the  first  step  is  a  sane  passenger  train  schedule.  The  rate 
of  speed  at  which  passenger  trains  are  operated  is  entirely  under 
the  control  of  the  railroad  officials,  but  if  the  rate  of  speed  is  too 
high  and  endangers  the  lives  and  limbs  of  its  patrons,  the  pub- 
lic can  and  evidently  will  demand  regulation. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  criticize,  but  what  about  the  remedy  ? 
A  criticism  without  a  remedy  usually  emanates  from  an  individ- 
ual who  is  a  most  pleased  and  interested  audience  to  his  own 
voice. 

One  eminent  authority  relieves  himself  of  the  following: 
'The  crying  need  of  railway  service  to-day  is  a  sensible  and 
entirely  workable  code  of  rules  governing  the  operation  of 
trains — a  code  that  can  be  obeyed  under  all  conditions  of  opera- 
tion, a  code  the  primary  purpose  of  which  shall  be  the  preven- 
tion of  accidents  rather  than  the  avoidance  of  legal  responsi- 
bility for  their  occurrence." 

Splendid,  so  far  as  it  goes;  but  where  does  it  lead  one? 
Every  railroad  man  in  this  country  knows  we  need  just  what 
the  gentleman  says,  but  how  to  reach  that  much  desired  goal  is 
the  rub.  I  suppose  specialists  and  experts  will  continue  to  give 


64  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

the  railroad  people  their  advice  at  so  much  per,  but  in  the  last 
analysis  it  will  be  the  practical  man  who  will  work  out  the 
solution. 

To  that  end  the  railroad  manager  must  have  the  assistance 
of  the  public,  the  co-operation  of  every  railroad  user,  both  trav- 
eler and  shipper.  Through  this  human  agency  the  public  must 
be  schooled  in  safety,  caution,  obedience. 

Safety,  prompted  by  the  law  of  self-preservation;  caution, 
on  the  approach  to  or  leaving  cars  at  stations  or  crossings,  or 
while  traveling;  and  obedience  to  the  rules,  signs  and  signals  of 
the  railroad.  A  constant  observation  of  these  fundamental 
rules,  together  with  the  adoption  of  a  strong  Federal  law 
against  trespassing,  and  perhaps  a  Federal  law  regulating  the 
speed  of  passenger  trains,  a  continued  development  in  the  per- 
fection of  the  Block  Signal,  and  other  safety  appliances,  the 
casualties  of  our  railroads  should  cease ;  and  our  constant  hope, 
yes,  and  prayer  is  that  they  will  cease. 


MR.  SCRUGHAM  : 

The  Southern  Pacific  has  several  representatives  here,  one 
of  whom  is  from  their  New  York  office,  and  I  will  ask  Mr.  John 
C.  Weigandt,  representing  the  Chairman  of  the  Executive 
Board,  to  favor  us  with  a  few  words. 


MR.  WEIGANDT: 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen:  I  was  not 
expecting  to  be  called  upon  for  an  address,  and  thought  my  ef- 
forts were  to  be  confined  to  lecturing  within  the  booth;  never- 
theless, I  am  very  glad  of  having  the  opportunity  of  bringing  to 
your  attention  several  of  the  principal  features  of  our  exhibit. 

As  you  enter  the  booth,  on  the  left,  on  the  wall,  you  will  see 
a  chart  showing  fatalities  to  persons  on  the  Southern  Pacific 
lines  in  the  last  five  years  on  practically  12,000  miles  of  road.  I 
want  to  draw  your  attention  particularly  to  the  fact  that  of  all 
the  fatalities  64.3  per  cent,  were  trespassers.  I  want  to  let  that 
sink  in  just  for  a  moment — that  represents  about  two-thirds  of 
all  of  the  fatalities  on  the  Southern  Pacific  lines.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  same  chart  shows  that  the  fatalities  to  passengers  in 
train  accidents  were — nothing.  Not  a  single  passenger  was 
killed  in  five  years  in  a  train  accident. 

Further  along  the  same  wall,  there  is  a  chart  showing  what 
the  engineers  and  trainmen  are  accomplishing  with  the  surprise 
tests.  You  will  find  the  percentage  of  efficiency  hovers  around 
99  per  cent,  in  the  years  from  1906  to  1913.  You  will  find  two 
drops,  but  it  has  never  been  below  92  per  cent,  so  there  has  been 
a  general  percentage  of  efficiency  of  about  98  per  cent.  That 
shows  the  high  standard  of  efficiency  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
engineer,  and  I  would  like  to  have  you  study  that  chart  before 
you  go. 

There  is  another  thing,  no  doubt,  that  will  prove  very  inter- 
esting, the  evolution  of  the  hospital.  You  will  find  that  on  the 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  65 

back  wall.  In  1867  we  rented  in  Sacramento  a  building  for  hos- 
pital uses  for  employees.  In  1869,  two  years  later,  we  built  a 
hospital  at  the  same  place,  and  it  is  the  first  one  in  the  world 
for  the  exclusive  treatment  of  railroad  employees. 

You  will  find  that  in  1899  we  built  a  general  hospital  in  San 
Francisco.  That  was  destroyed  in  the  fire  in  1906,  but  it  has 
been  replaced  with  a  building  which  you  will  find  located  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Golden  Gate  Park. 

With  these  few  remarks  and  extending  you  a  cordial  invita- 
tion to  visit  the  booth  before  you  leave,  I  will  close. 


MR.  SCRUGHAM: 

This  concludes  the  formal  program  for  this  afternoon's 
meeting.  Mr.  J.  J.  Mullin,  who  may  justly  be  termed  the  father 
of  the  Industrial  Saftey  Movement  in  Nevada,  has  received  a 
number  of  interesting  letters  from  some  of  the  foremost  indus- 
trial leaders  in  America  commending  the  work  of  this  Confer- 
ence. We  will  call  upon  Mr.  Mullin  to  read  such  portions  as 
may  be  of  special  interest  to  the  Conference : 


NATIONAL   ASSOCIATION   OF   MANUFACTURERS   OF   THE 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

Committee  for  Accident  Prevention  and  Workmen's  Compensation 
Office  of  the  Chairman 

Springfield,  111.,  January  14,  1914. 
Mr.  John  J.  Mullin,  Secretary  Nevada  Industrial  Commission, 

Carson  City,  Nevada. 
My  Dear  Mr.  Mullin: 

I  have  your  good  letter  of  January  8th.  This  is  addressed  to  me  as 
President  of  the  Citizens'  Industrial  Association  of  St.  Louis.  This  office 
I  have  not  held  for  more  than  two  years  past,  but  I  am  just  as  much  inter- 
ested in  the  Safety  Movement  as  ever,  even  though  my  duties  hold  me  at 
the  present  time  in  Springfield,  111.,  as  shown  by  the  attached  business 
card. 

You  are  aware,  of  course,  that  while  I  have  given  to  the  Safety 
Movement  nearly  half  of  my  time  during  the  last  five  years,  I  have  never 
held  a  paid  position.  I  have  been  glad  to  give  what  energy  there  is  in  me 
to  the  Safety  Movement,  and  probably  get  more  joy  out  of  the  time  spent 
thus  than  other  business  men  get  out  of  their  golf  games  or  other  occupa- 
tions'for  leisure  hours. 

I  am  more  than  glad  to  see  from  your  letter  that  a  Safety  First  Con- 
vention will  be  given  at  the  University  of  Nevada  and  that  this  Convent- 
tion  will  be  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Engineers'  Club.  Being  an 
electrical,  mechanical  engineer  by  profession,  and  having  devoted  much  of 
my  time  during  the  last  few  years  to  agricultural  engineering,  I  naturally 
have  a  warm  spot  for  the  engineering  profession;  in  fact,  as  one  of  my  old 
Professors  put  it,  I  believe  Engineering  as  important  as  Philosophy,  if 
not  more  so.  This  Professor  told  me  that  every  man  intending  to  become 
a  philosopher  ought  to  study  mechanical  engineering  first  so  as  to  acquire 
horse  sense.  While  this  seems  somewhat  of  a  reflection  upon  our  philoso- 
phers, it  is  by  no  means  bad  advice. 

Whenever  I  hear  that  the  engineering  profession  is  taking  a  special 
interest  in  our  new  modern  conservation  methods,  especially  human  con- 
servation methods,  I  feel  proud  of  the  fact  that  I  am  an  engineer,  even 


66  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

though  I  do  not  follow  the  profession  now  because  business  and  financial 
affairs  require  all  of  my  time. 

You  ask  me  to  send  you  a  paper  on  the  subject  of  "Safety  First", 
but  instead  I  would  rather  have  you  read  to  the  gathering  such  parts  of 
this  letter  as  you  desire. 

Tell  them  for  me  that  no  effort  in  my  life  has  given  me  quite  the 
satisfaction  that  the  five  years  which  I  have  spent  in  the  Safety  First 
Movement.  Tell  them  for  me  that  the  State  of  Nevada  ought  to  be  proud 
of  the  interest  the  State  and  the  Industrial  Commission  have  taken  in  the 
human  conservation  movement. 

Be  assured  that  you  are  right  in  taking  hold  of  his  movement  and 
especially  in  establishing  a  local  Council  to  be  affiliated  with  the  National 
Council  for  Industrial  Safety.  You  are  aware  that  I  am  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  this  organization.  You  may  be  aware  that  I  was 
one  of  the  organization  and  served  the  Council  as  its  Chairman  last  year.  It 
is  to  my  mind  one  of  the  deserving  and  one  of  the  best  movements  of  the 
age. 

Whatever  we  may  do  in  the  conservation  movement,  it  is  a  fact  that 
the  lives  and  limbs  of  our  toilers,  the  health  and  well  being  of  our  people, 
are  more  important  than  all  other  natural  resources  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  the  preservation  of  these  resources  is  far  more  important  than 
the  perpetuation  of  forest,  stream,  and  soil. 

It  seems  to  me  particularly  important  that  our  Engineering  Schools 
take  more  cognizance  of  the  Safety  Movement,  and  it  is  a  strange  coinci- 
dence that  practically  on  the  same  day  on  which  the  Safety  First  Conven- 
tion takes  place  at  Reno  I  am  to  address  the  engineering  students  at  Shef- 
field Scientific  School  of  Yale  University. 

To  be  used  in  this  talk  I  am  preparing  fifty  or  more  new  charts  and 
lantern  slides  which  should  appeal  with  particular  force  to  engineers  and 
engineering  students.  I  am  going  to  send  this  material  in  the  form  of  an 
illustrated  pamphlet,  to  our  members  and  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  send  you 
some  of  these  books  if  you  care  for  them. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  you  may  not  have  paid  special  attention  to 
the  "Open  Letter"  which  I  issued  to  the  Colleges  several  years  ago.  I 
attach  it  hereto.  My  plea  is  as  timely  to-day  as  it  was  then,  only  more 
important  and  more  pressing. 

And  now  in  conclusion,  let  me  again  urge  you  to  push  the  Safety 
First  Movement  with  all  of  your  energy  and  all  of  your  strength.  There 
is  no  better  movement,  and  I  hope  to  have  the  opportunity  to  discuss  in 
person  with  you  and  your  associates  within  the  next  year  or  so  the  good 
work  that  is  being  done  now  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  which  work  should 
find  its  natural  expression  in  the  establishment  of  Safety  Councils  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States  to  be  affiliated  with  a  central  body  at  present 
located  in  Chicago. 

Truly  yours, 

FRED  C.  SCHWEDTMAN,  Chairman. 


NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION   OF   MANUFACTURERS  OF   THE 
UNITED   STATES  OF  AMERICA 

Committee  for  Accident  Prevention  and  Workmen's  Compensation 
Office  of  the  Chairman,  706  Locust  Street,  Saint  Louis,  Mo. 

AN  OPEN  LETTER  TO  THE  COLLEGES 

We  are  assured  by  many  authorities  that  a  college  education  in  our 
best  institutions  is  conducted  upon  more  practical  lines  than  in  European 
Schools.  This  is  particularly  true  of  technical  schools,  engineering  col- 
leges and  and  agricultural  schools.  The  civil  engineer,  mechanical,  elec- 
trical, chemical,  and  agricultural  engineers  turned  out  yearly  by  our  many 
excellent  institutions  are  the  men  who  in  a  large  measure  will  write  the 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  67 

future  history  of  the  United  States.     They  are  showing  us  how  to  grow 
two  dollars  where  one  grew  before. 

Our  colleges  deserve  great  credit  for  popularizing  education.  Cor- 
responding courses  have  brought  a  college  education  within  the  reach  of 
everybody  willing  to  work.  New  branches  and  new  degrees  have  been 
added  as  fast  as  modern  conditions  require,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  there 
is  one  field  in  which  developments  of  recent  years  invite  the  prompt  action 
of  our  colleges.  I  speak  of  "safety  engineering." 

The  economic  loss  in  the  United  States  due  to  accidents  is  estimated 
by  eminent  authorities  as  $250,000,000.00  annually,  and  this  money  value 
is  as  nothing  compared  with  human  considerations.  We  are  learning  that 
the  health  and  independence  of  our  people,  the  self-respect  and  earning 
capacity  of  our  wage-workers,  the  lives  and  limbs  of  our  toilers  are  our 
nation's  best  assets  and  that  their  safe-guarding  is  five  times  as  important 
to  the  nation  as  the  preservation  of  forest,  stream  and  soil. 

Up  to  a  few  years  ago  the  principal  consideration  in  designing  and 
operating  American  machinery  was  speed  and  output.  To-day  humanity 
has  placed  a  new  requirement  ahead  of  quantity  and  quality,  namely: 
"Safety". 

A  few  years  ago  accident  prevention  was  considered  in  the  United 
States  an  abstract  and  theoretical  question.  To-day  is  the  most  con- 
crete and  practical  problem  confronting  us.  A  few  years  ago  a  room  12x 
12  could  easily  hold  all  the  persons  devoting  time  and  study  to  the  subject 
of  accident  prevention  in  the  United  States.  To-day  five  hundred  or  more 
delegates  engaged  in  practical  safe-guarding  of  mine,  industry  and  trans- 
portation, attended  the  first  "Co-operative  Safety  Congress"  held  in  the 
United  States. 

A  large  manufacturing  concern,  which  does  not  employ  regularly  one 
or  more  safety  experts,  is,  at  the  present  day,  considered  as  much  behind 
the  times  as  a  plant  with  out-of-date  machinery. 

While  it  may  require  the  club  of  the  law  to  bring  realization  of  safety 
conditions  to  some  employers  and  some  employees,  it  is  my  conviction 
based  upon  experience  that  a  large  majority  of  our  people  are  anxious  to 
comply  with  every  reasonable  precaution  as  soon  as  they  know  and  under- 
stand. It  is  not  the  policeman's  star  and  club  that  is  nearly  so  much  re- 
quired as  education.  I  have  ten  requests  on  hand  for  every  available 
safety  engineer.  Thousands  of  foremen,  machinists  and  steam  engineers 
would  enroll  in  a  correspondence  course  of  safety  engineering  Thous- 
ands of  graduates  of  our  colleges  in  safety  engineering  would  find  at  once 
remunerative  employment  not  only  in  manufacturing  establishments  but 
in  our  public  schools,  where  safety,  accident  prevention  and  first  aid  to 
injured  should  be  taught  in  an  elementary  way. 

Large  amounts  of  energy  and  money  are  wasted  every  day  of  the 
year  in  going  at  the  problem  of  accident  prevention  in  a  wrong  or  ineffi- 
cient manner.  Thousands  of  State  Factory  Inspectors,  who  should  by  law 
be  required  to  be  graduated  safety  engineers,  have  little  conception  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  their  official  duties. 

All  these  conditions  retard  safety  engineering,  and  colleges  can  ren- 
der wonderful  service  to  the  country  by  establishing  means  of  supplying 
the  greatest  demand  of  the  day,  competent  safety  engineers. 

As  speaking  for  the  National  Association  of  Manufacturers  of  the 
U.  S.  A.,  I  am  sure  that  the  colleges  can  count  upon  the  hearty  co-opera- 
tion of  all  employees. 

F.  C.  SCHWEDTMAN,  Chairman. 
Committee  for  Accident  Prevention  and  Workmen's  Compensation. 


68  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

NATIONAL  COUNCIL  FOR  INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY 
Office  of  the  President 

Chicago,  111.,  January  23,  1914. 
Mr.  John  J.  Mullin,  Secretary  Nevada  Industrial  Commission, 

Carson   City,  Nevada. 
My  Dear  Mr.  Mullin: 

Very  many  thanks  for  having  sent  me  the  kind  invitation  from  the 
Engineers'  Club  of  the  University  of  Nevada  for  its  meeting  on  Tuesday 
evening,  January  27th. 

I  very  much  regret,  however,  that  the  point  of  geographical  location, 
makes  it  impossible  for  me  to  avail  myself  of  this  invitation.  I  should,  of 
course,  have  very  much  liked  to  attend. 

Wishing  the  meeting  every  success,  I  am, 
Yours  very  truly, 

R.  W.  CAMPBELL,  President. 


AVERY  COMPANY 

Peoria,  111.,  Jan.  24.  1914. 

Mr.  John  J.  Mullin,  Secretary  Nevada  Industrial  Commission, 

Carson   City,  Nevada. 
My  Dear  Mr.  Mullin: 

The  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  to  you  personally  the  pleasure  he 
has  had  in  receiving  an  invitation  to  attend  the  Safety  First  Conference, 
which  is  to  be  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  University  of  Nevada  and 
the  Nevada  Industrial  Commission  at  the  University  of  Nevada  on  the 
26th  and  27th  of  this  month.  I  anticipate  with  a  great  deal  of  interest 
any  reports  you  may  send  in  reference  to  the  program  or  the  discussions. 

We  are  at  present  exceedingly  busy  taking  inventory  and  preparing 
for  the  annual  meeting  on  the  17th  of  next  month.  The  writer  would  very 
much  like  to  attend  the  Conference,  but  cannot  see  now  that  it  will  be 
possible  for  him  to  get  away  or  to  go  so  great  a  distance.  Rest  assured, 
however,  that  I  shall  be  present  in  spirit  although  not  in  person. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

AVERY   COMPANY, 

G.  L.  AVERY,  Secretary. 


WORKMEN'S  COMPENSATION  SERVICE  BUREAU 

80  Maiden  Lane 

New  York,  January  19,  1914. 

Mr.  John  J.  Mullin,  Secretary  Nevada  Industrial  Commission, 

Carson  City,  Nevada. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  have  for  acknowledgment  your  favor  of  the  13th  inst.  advising  of  a 
Safety  First  Conference  to  be  held  at  the  University  of  Nevada,  Reno,  Ne- 
vada, on  Jan.  26th  and  27th. 

Permit  me  to  express  my  deep  appreciation  for  the  invitation.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  distance  precludes  any  possibility  of  my  being  pres- 
ent. I  assure  you,  however,  that  nothing  should  have  given  me  more 
pleasure  than  to  have  spent  the  two  days  with  you. 

Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  express  on  my  behalf  to  the  Engineers' 
Club  of  the  University  of  Nevada  my  sincere  regret  at  my  inability  to  avail 
myself  of  their  kind  invitation  and  further  assure  them  that  I  am  heartily 
in  favor  of  the  movement  undertaken.  I  have  traveled  in  practically  every 
section  of  Nevada,  having  inspected  most  of  the  mines  and  industrial  es- 
tablishments there  and  know  that  improvements  in  point  of  safety  are 
obtainable  if  a  concerted  movement  for  that  purpose  is  inaugurated,  but 
let  it  be  a  movement  of  deed  rather  than  of  promise.  We  have  found  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  that  enthusiasm  in  the  subject  is  easily  work- 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  69 

ed  up,  but  when  it  comes  to  achieving  actual  results,  we  find  that  some  of 
our  greatest  enthusiasts  lag  behind. 

I  hope  and  believe  that  the  State  of  Nevada  will  go  after  Safety 
First  with  true  characteristic  Western  enthusiasm,  and  if  they  do,  success 
will  be  theirs. 

C.  M.  HANSEN,  Secretary. 


UNITED  STATES  CORPORATION 
71    Broadway,    Empire    Building 

New  York,  January  19,  1914. 
Mr.  John  J.  Mullin,  Secretary  Nevada  Industrial  Commission, 

Carson  City,  Nevada. 
Dear  Sir: 

This  is  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  very  kind  invitation,  dated 
January  13,  1914,  to  participate  in  your  Safety  First  Conference  in  Reno, 
January  26th  and  27th,  and  also  to  be  the  guest  at  a  dinner  given  by  the 
Engineers'  Club. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  your  kind  invitation  and  regret  exceeding- 
ly that  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  attend.  Your  letter  mentions  that 
a  copy  of  the  program  was  attached,  but  I  am  unable  to  find  it.  May  I  be 
favored  with  another  copy.  I  would  also  be  very  much  pleased  if  I  could 
receive  a  copy  of  the  records  of  the  Conference  provided  that  they  are 
printed  and  distributed. 

With  very  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  Conference,  I  am, 
Very  sincerely  yours, 

C.  W.  CLOSE,  Manager. 

P.S.  I  am  sending  you  a  copy  of  our  Number  Four  Bulletin,  in 
which  you  may  be  interested. 

THE  AMERICAN  MUSEUM  OF  SAFETY 
29   W.   39th   Street, 

New  York,  January  22,  1914. 
Mr.  John  J.  Mullin,  Secretary  Nevada  Industrial  Commission, 

Carson  City,   Nevada. 
My  Dear  Sir: 

Acknowledging  your  kind  favor  of  January  13th,  inviting  me  to  be 
your  guest  at  a  dinner  at  your  Safety  First  Conference  January  27th,  I 
only  regret  that  you  should  have  selected  a  place  of  meeting  so  far  from 
New  York. 

Believe  me  it  would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  be  present,  and  I  de- 
sire you  to  extend  the  greetings  of  the  American  Museum  of  Safety  to 
yourself  and  colleagues. 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  H.  TOLMAN,  Director. 

P.S.  If  you  have  any  published  report  of  the  meeting,  I  shall  be 
glad  to  receive  a  copy. 


PROFESSOR  SCRUGHAM: 

The  program  for  this  evening's  entertainment  is  as  follows : 

Presiding  Officer H.  C.  Neeld,  International  Association  of  Machinists 

Honarary  Presiding  Officers W.  S.  Lunsford,  Reno  Typographical  Union 

H.  A.  Lemmon,  State  Industrial  Commission 

No.  1  Demonstration  of  Wireless  Telegraphy  and  of  Discharges  of  High 
Potential  Electricity;  by  Departments  of  Electrical  Engineer- 
ing and  Physics,  University  of  Nevada. 

No.  2.  Motion  Pictures,  "The  Manufacture  of  Steel,"  loaned  by  the  U.  S. 
Steel  Corporation. 

No.  3.     Motion  Pictures,  "University  Campus  and  Laboratories." 

No.  4.  Motion  Pictures,  "Miners  at  Work,  Mine  Explosion  and  Rescue," 
U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines. 


70  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

We  are  in  receipt  of  telegrams  stating  that  Governor  Oddie, 
W.  R.  Scott,  General  Manager  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company, 
and  numerous  other  men  of  prominence  in  the  industrial  world, 
will  arrive  some  time  to-morrow.  A  special  train  will  be  in 
waiting  to-morrow  night  at  9  o'clock  at  the  S.  P.  depot  to  convey 
those  who  desire  to  attend  the  headlight  tests.  This  concludes 
the  afternoon  program. 


GENERAL  MEETING 

JANUARY  27,  1914,  10  A.  M. 

MR.  P.  E.  RAYMOND,  President  University  of  Nevada  Engin- 
eers' Club: — 

The  principal  business  of  this  session  will  be  a  discussion 
of  Safety  Regulations  for  Electric  Power  Companies.  We  have 
for  our  presiding  officer  this  morning  one  of  the  most  eminent 
authorities  in  America,  whose  work  along  such  lines  has  received 
highest  commendation.  I  present  Mr.  A.  H.  Babcock,  Chief 
Electrical  Engineer  for  the  Southern  Pacific  Company: 


MR.  BABCOCK: 

The  opening  paper  is  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Freudenberger,  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Nevada  Public  Service  Commission.  As  he  has 
been  detained  by  traffic  interruptions,  the  paper  will  be  read  by 
Mr.  Delwyn  Dessar  of  the  University  of  Nevada  Engineers' 
Club: 


SAFETY      REGULATIONS      FOR      ELECTRIC      POWER 

COMPANIES. 

BY 

W.  K.  FREUDENBERGER 

The  above  named  subject  was  assigned  to  me  for  a  paper 
to  be  presented  at  this  meeting,  with  the  explanation  that  it  is 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  uniform  practice  in  the  protection 
of  high  voltage  electric  lines,  and,  further,  that  it  touch  upon 
the  Nevada  laws  on  the  subject. 

Taking  up  the  subject  of  uniform  practice  in  the  construc- 
tion of  electric  lines,  including  all  classes,  from  low  voltage  to, 
extra  high  voltage,  I  unhesitatingly  recommend  the  adoption  of 
the  specifications  prepared  by  the  National  Electric  Light  Asso- 
ciation, and  published  in  their  1911  report. 

In  order  to  properly  bring  the  subject  before  the  meeting 
for  discussion,  some  of  the  most  important  parts  of  these  speci- 
fications are  attached  as  an  appendix. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  71 

Adverting  to  the  Nevada  laws  on  the  subject,  I  find  the 
following : 

All  regular  line  wires  for  electric  light  or  power  service, 
shall  be  placed  a  distance  of  more  than  16  inches  from  the 
center  line  of  any  pole,  whether  or  not  they  are  attached  to 
same. 

Line  wires  intended  to  carry  more  than  600  volts,  shall  be 
placed  4  feet  or  more  in  a  vertical  direction  from  line  wires 
intended  to  carry  less  than  600  volts,  but  the  distance  between 
such  wires  may  be  only  32  inches  in  a  horizontal  direction  if 
placed  on  the  same  cross-arm. 

Provided,  however,  that  at  all  times  a  clearance  of  not  less 
than  2  feet  in  a  vertical  direction  at  a  point  of  crossing  is  main- 
tained between  wires  carrying  more  than  600  volts,  and  wires 
carrying  less  than  600  volts. 

All  crossarms  on  which  are  lines  carrying  from  600  to 
15,000  volts,  shall  be  painted  a  bright  yellow,  or,  on  such  cross- 
arms  shall  be  placed  enameled  iron  signs,  providing  in  white 
letters  on  green  background,  the  words  "High  Voltage,"  and 
these  letters  shall  not  be  less  than  3  inches  in  height,  and  said 
signs  shall  be  securely  fastened  to  the  face  and  back  of  each 
crossarm. 

All  guy  wires  attached  to  poles  carrying  electric  light  or 
power  wires,  shall  contain  insulators  at  a  distance  of  not  less 
than  4  feet  nor  more  than  8  feet  (measured  along  the  line  of  guy 
wire)  from  the  upper  end  thereof,  and  not  less  than  8  feet  ver- 
tically above  the  ground  from  the  lower  end  thereof,  and  pro- 
vided further,  that  whenever  two  or  more  guy  wires  are  attach- 
ed to  same  pole  and  same  anchorage  there  shall  be  at  least  1  foot 
vertical  space  between  the  points  of  attachment.  And  further 
provided,  that  where  guy  is  attached  to  a  pole  or  structure  of 
steel  or  other  conducting  material,  which  is  thoroughly  ground- 
ed, no  insulation  shall  be  required  in  any  point  in  said  guy. 

All  electric  light  and  power  wrires  which  are  run  vertically 
on  poles  shall  be  wholly  in  conduit  equal  in  durability  and  insul- 
ating efficiency  to  a  wooden  casing  not  less  than  11/2  inches  thick. 

Arc  lamps  and  transformers  shall  not  be  placed  on  the  same 
pole. 

None  of  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  sections  shall  be  held 
to  apply  to  direct  current  electric  wires  having  the  same  pol- 
arity, except  the  spacing  between  pole  and  wires. 

All  span  wire  shall  contain  insulators  at  each  end,  insul- 
ators to  be  placed  not  less  than  2  feet  nor  more  than  4  feet  from 
the  ends. 

The  Public  Service  Commission  of  Nevada  shall  see  that  the 
provisions  of  this  act  are  enforced. 

Any  violation  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be 
deemed  a  misdemeanor  and  shall  be  punishable  upon  conviction 
by  a  fine  of  not  exceeding  $500,  or,  by  imprisonment  in  a  county 


72  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

jail  not  exceeding  six  months,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  impris- 
onment. 

This  act  shall  take  effect  six  months  from  the  date  of  its 
passage  in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  new  work,  and  a  period  of  five 
years  shall  be  allowed  in  which  to  reconstruct  all  existing  work 
and  construction  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

The  following  law  also  applies  to  the  larger  electric  com- 
panies operating  in  this  state;  those  which  have  filed  their  ac- 
ceptance of  the  terms  of  the  provisions  of  the  act  approved 
March  2,  1901,  Chapter  25,  Laws  of  1901,  or  which  complied 
with  the  procedure  authorized  by  Chapter  190  of  the  Laws  of 
1907.  This  law  coming  under  Chapter  132,  Laws  of  1909. 

Section  2.  Such  persons  or  corporations  shall  keep  their 
plants,  poles  and  wires,  and  necessary  appurtenances  in  good 
repair,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  passage  of  persons  or 
vehicles  or  the  safety  of  persons  or  property.  Such  poles  shall 
be  not  less  than  30  feet  in  height,  and  the  wires  strung  thereon 
shall  be  not  less  than  25  feet  above  the  ground,  and  such  per- 
sons or  corporations  shall  provide  a  competent  electrician  at  the 
expense  of  such  persons  or  corporations,  to  cut  and  repair  such 
wires  as  are  necessary  for  the  removal  of  the  buildings  or  other 
property  through  the  streets  of  said  counties,  cities  or  towns 
with  all  due  diligence. 

Section  3.  The  appurtenances  of  said  plant  shall  be  of  the 
most  approved  construction  for  the  comfort  and  conveniences 
of  the  inhabitants  of  said  counties,  cities  and  towns  of  this 
state. 

Although  there  have  not  been  a  large  number  of  serious  or 
fatal  accidents  on  the  high  tension  lines  in  this  state,  the  num- 
ber could  be  still  further  reduced  by  using  greater  care.  I  have 
gone  over  the  accident  reports  made  by  the  public  utilities  of  this 
state  for  the  last  three  years,  which  are  on  file  with  the  Public 
Service  Commission,  and  find  that  there  were  four  accidents  in 
1911,  three  in  1912,  and  three  in  1913,  briefly  described  as  fol- 
lows 

YEAR  1911 

Linemen  working  on  a  corner  pole  guyed  in  only  one  direc- 
tion. Pole  broke  off  at  ground  line,  resulting  in  a  broken  leg 
and  sprained  right  arm. 

Lineman  repairing  lightning  arrester,  exposed  himself  to 
the  live  side  of  same,  and  was  severely  burned. 

Lineman  was  removing  some  unused  wires  from  a  pole. 
Pole  had  rotted  off  at  ground  line.  When  wires  were  removed 
the  pole  fell,  resulting  in  a  broken  leg.  Man  was  fastened  to 
pole  by  a  safety  belt. 

Lineman  killed  when  telephone  wire  came  in  contact  with 
high  tension  line.  A  line  gang  were  stringing  a  pair  of  tele- 
phone wires  on  the  poles  of  a  live  high  tension  line. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  73 

YEAR  1912 

Laborer  was  killed  by  touching  an  overhead  high  tension 
wire  with  an  iron  pipe.  The  wire  was  probably  not  more  than 
15  feet  from  the  ground. 

Three  men  in  a  surveying  party  using  a  600-foot  steel  tape, 
working  beneath  a  high  tension  line,  flipped  the  tape  up  against 
the  wires  and  were  all  more  or  less  severely  burned. 

Workman  was  killed  by  bringing  a  ladder  into  contact  with 
a  high  tension  line  which  was  about  twenty  feet  overhead. 

YEAR  1913 

High  wind  blew  down  a  pole  carrying  high  tension  line 
which  came  in  contact  with  another  line,  resulting  in  a  workman 
on  the  latter  line  having  his  hands  severely  burned. 

Patrolman  had  his  hands  badly  burned  by  a  lightning 
stroke.  He  was  standing  on  the  ground  repairing  a  dead  trans- 
mission line  wire,  and  had  the  line  grounded  with  safety  chains 
in  the  regulation  manner. 

Mining  company  built  up  a  dump  beneath  a  transmission 
line  to  such  an  extent  that  a  workman  in  raising  a  track  rail 
brought  it  in  contact  with  the  wires  and  received  slight  burns. 

In  addition  to  these  reports  I  will  refer  to  several  fatal 
accidents  which  occurred  in  Nevada  before  1911. 

In  1904  a  lineman  was  killed  while  repairing  a  dead  line, 
which  was  on  the  same  poles  with  a  live  line,  the  wire  from 
which  he  received  the  fatal  shock  evidently  having  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  live  wires.  The  manager  of  the  company  oper- 
ating this  line,  states  that  since  this  accident  no  repair  work 
has  been  done  on  this  line  until  both  circuits  have  been  discon- 
nected and  grounded. 

In  a  second  case,  occurring  in  1909,  a  man  was  electrocuted 
by  leaning  against  a  corrugated  iron  building  with  one  foot 
against  a  tram  rail  wrhich  extended  into  a  tunnel.  A  2000-volt 
wire,  which  crossed  over  this  building  came  in  contact  with  the 
roof.  The  sagging  of  the  wire  being  caused  by  the  breaking  of 
a  guy  wire  two  poles  distant  from  the  building. 

In  a  third  case,  a  carpenter  was  killed  when  he  turned  a 
switch  on  a  110-volt  circuit.  It  was  suspected  that  the  distrib- 
uting line  had  come  in  contact  with  a  2000-volt  line.  Since  that 
time  all  transformer  neutrals  on  the  system  have  been  grounded. 
A  fourth  case  occurred  in  1909.  A  lineman  was  electrocuted 
while  tying  in  live  wire  lines  carrying  4000  volts. 

A  fifth  case  occurred  in  1909.  A  lineman  was  electrocuted 
by  being  grounded  from  a  4000-volt  line  to  a  guy  wire  which 
was  not  properly  insulated.  The  line  was  supposed  to  be  dead 
at  the  time,,  but  due  to  an  oversight  of  the  entire  repair  gang  one 
switch  had  not  been  opened. 

A  sixth  case  occurred  the  same  year.  A  lineman  was  elec- 
trocuted when  he  climbed  a  tree  and  attempted  to  remove  a  loose 
limb  from  contact  with  a  2000-volt  line. 


74  'UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

A  seventh  case  occurred  in  1910.  A  lineman  was  electrocut- 
ed while  working  on  a  220-volt  line.  A  2000-volt  line  became 
loose  and  dropped  on  a  transformer,  and  in  some  manner  the 
higher  voltage  was  transferred  to  the  line  on  which  the  man  was 
working. 

The  Telluride  Power  Company,  one  of  the  pioneers  in  high 
tension  transmission,  writes  as  follows  on  this  subject: 

"On  the  transmission  lines  where  one  would  expect  the 
greatest  danger,  we  have  had  practically  no  serious  accidents. 
We  never  work  on  a  live  high  tension  line,  nor  do  we  employ 
the  construction  now  coming  into  such  widespread  use  of  having 
two  3-phase  circuits  on  one  structure.  Before  any  repairs  are 
made  to  any  section  of  line,  switches  are  opened  at  both  ends.  In 
addition  we  have  a  rigid,  switch-type  grounding  and  short-cir- 
cutting  device  to  prevent  dynamic  voltage  being  thrown  on  the 
line  and  to  remove  static  charges.  These  grounding  devices  are 
arranged  so  as  to  lock  shut  and  be  under  the  absolute  control 
of  the  men  working  on  that  particular  section  of  line. 

"We  do  not  install  telephone  wires  on  our  high  tension  trans- 
mission structures.  Our  reasons  are  mainly  to  avoid  operating 
difficulties  rather  than  to  obviate  any  danger  that  there  may  be. 

"Our  stations  are  so  designed  that  operators  cannot  come  in 
contact  with  any  high  tension  parts  in  the  ordinary  pursuit  of 
their  duties.  During  the  15  years  operation,  several  accidents 
have  occurred,  but  they  may  all  be  attributed  to  occasional  lapse 
of  human  vigilance  in  pursuit  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
danger.  The  operators  are  thoroughly  cognizant  of  the  danger, 
when  doing  special  work,  and  there  seem  to  be  no  further 
measures  toward  the  protection  of  human  life  than  we  have  al- 
ready taken." 

In  further  reference  to  this  subject  I  have  for  distribution 
a  number  of  copies  of  the  Safety  Regulations  for  Public  Utili- 
ties which  were  issued  by  the  Public  Service  Commission.  I 
also  have  single  copies  of  safety  rules  issued  by  some  of  the 
large  operating  companies  which  any  one  present  may  inspect. 

In  conclusion  I  will  say  that  in  my  opinion  the  best  way  to 
secure  safe  construction  and  operation  of  high  tension  lines  and 
apparatus  is  to  employ  none  but  competent  and  experienced 
men. 


MR.  BABCOCK: 

We  will  now  call  upon  Mr.  Geo.  A.  Campbell,  General  Man- 
ager of  the  Truckee  River  General  Electric  Company  and  Reno 
Power,  Light  and  Water  Company,  to  discuss  the  subject. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  75 


SAFETY    REGULATIONS    FOR    ELECTRIC    POWER 

COMPANIES 
BY 

G.  A.  CAMPBELL 

I  have  listened  to  Mr.  Freudenberger's  paper  with  a  great 
deal  of  interest,  and  I  think  he  has  covered  practically  every- 
thing. Certain  standards  have  been  adopted  and  we  are  all  try- 
ing to  follow  them.  With  my  company  in  Reno  especially,  we 
are  trying  to  follow  them  right  up  to  the  standard.  Outside  of 
Reno  we  have  some  few  lines  yet  to  be  brought  up  to  the  stand- 
ard, which  we  are  doing  as  rapidly  as  possible.  I  noted  the 
mention  of  operation  of  high  tension  lines.  Operation  of  high 
tension  lines  as  we  all  know,  is  dangerous.  We  know  that  they 
should  never  be  repaired  while  the  lines  are  hot.  The  usual 
custom  of  repairing  high  tension  lines,  if  there  are  two  circuits 
on  one  pole  line,  is  to  disconnect  both.  We  do  not  work  one  line 
while  the  other  is  hot.  We  had  an  accident  eight  or  nine 
years  ago  on  a  double  circuit  line,  in  which  a  man  lost  an  arm. 
He  thought  he  could  repair  the  line  by  pulling  up  the  line  on  one 
side  of  the  pole  while  the  other  was  hot,  and  the  wire  slipped 
over  to  the  other  line.  Our  rule  is  that  they  must  now  be 
grounded  at  both  ends.  My  company  has  recently  started  an 
inspection  of  power  plants  to  prevent  fire  hazard,  and  they  have 
followed  up  with  the  prevention  of  accident  hazard.  I  am  going 
to  mention  some  of  these  things  that  come  up.  We  think  we 
have  a  very  fine  plant.  We  are  proud  of  it.  When  I  heard  from 
headquarters  that  we  were  going  to  have  an  accident  preven- 
tion inspection,  I  said,  "When  the  inspector  comes  along,  he  will 
find  that  some  of  the  old  plants  which  have  been  in  existence  12 
or  15  years  may  not  be  in  the  best  shape,  but  this  new  plant  will 
be  in  good  shape."  I  repeated  the  remark  to  him.  His  reply 
was,  "You  have  a  fine  plant."  BUT-  — .  Here  is  his 

report  on  the  plant.  It  covers  three  pages.  I  will  just  read 
one  or  two  items : 

"It  is  recommended  that  you  place  barriers  so  that  unauth- 
orized persons  cannot  have  access  to  the  back  of  the  switch- 
board in  the  southeast  corner.  Gate  or  wire  netting  door,  by 
which  access  is  obtained  to  the  back  of  the  board,  should  be  pro- 
vided with  a  lock,  but  to  be  arranged  so  that  it  can  be  opened 
from  the  inside  with  ease  and  promptness.  Door  should  of 
course,  swing  outward." 

It  covers  a  number  of  little  things  like  that.  We  took  his 
inspection  report,  and  immediately  began  work  so  that  when  he 
comes  down  next  year  he  can  give  us  a  more  favorable  report. 
That  is  just  one  of  the  plants.  He  has  a  general  report  for  acci- 
dent dangers.  This  report  is  suitable  for  any  plant.  Not  alone 


76  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

a  power  house,  but  a  steam  plant,  or  factory,  or  anything  of  that 
kind.  He  begins  this  report  as  follows: 

"Special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  subject  matter 
contained  in  this  report  relating  to  portable  and  fixed  ladders, 
fences,  and  railings,  stairways,  portable  steps  and  stools,  house- 
keeping, tools,  emery  wheels,  lathes,  and  the  guarding  of 
mechanical  transmission  machinery  and  moving  parts." 

He  also  laid  a  good  deal  of  stress  on  tools.  I  accompanied 
him  over  our  system,  and  I  noticed  at  each  station  he  inspected 
the  tool  box.  Whenever  he  found  a  chisel  that  was  mushroomed, 
he  called  attention  of  the  operator  to  it,  and  said  that  he  should 
have  that  tool  dressed.  He  said  there  were  more  accidents 
from  chips  flying  from  tools  than  anything  else.  The  boys  are 
all  taking  a  great  deal  of  interest,  and  they  expect  to  accomplish 
some  very  fine  results  from  this  inspection. 


MR.  BABCOCK: 

Mr.  Campbell's  discussion  has  brought  out  many  points  of 
interest  to  us  all.  The  next  speaker  is  Mr.  Fred  Mechling, 
Manager  of  the  Nevada-California  Power  Company,  who  will 
tell  us  something  of  the  Safety  work  of  his  Company. 


SAFETY  PRECAUTIONS  OF  THE  NEVADA-CALIFORNIA 
POWER  COMPANY 

BY 
F.  B.  MECHLING 

This  subject  of  Safety  regulation  is  one  that  interests  all  the 
power  companies  very  much,  and  I  desire  to  state  that  the  Ne- 
vada-California Power  Company  is  thoroughly  in  sympathy 
with  this  Safety  movement,  and  wants  to  do  everything  possible 
to  show  their  interest  in  it. 

As  the  paper  written  by  Mr.  Freudenberger  outlines  the 
rules  covering  Safety  regulations  which  have  been  adopted  after 
a  careful  study  of  this  subject  by  the  National  Electric  Light 
Association,  any  criticism  of  these  rules  is  naturally  a  difficult 
proposition. 

In  the  operation  of  the  Nevada-California  Power  Company, 
these  rules,  which  are  considered  standard,  are  being  followed 
as  closely  as  possible. 

In  connection  with  the  use  of  electric  power  in  the  opera- 
tion of  mines,  I  would  suggest  that  as  a  matter  of  precaution  to 
the  miners,  special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  proper 
grounding  of  motors  used  for  hoists,  compressors,  and  pumps. 

The  hoist  motors  should  be  grounded  independent  from  the 
hoist  frame  which  may  be  installed  on  a  wooden  or  concrete 
foundation.  In  a  dry  climate  this  affords  but  a  partial  ground, 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  77 

and  does  not  protect  a  miner  working  in  a  wet  shaft  coming  in 
contact  with  the  bucket  or  steel  cable  connected  through  the 
hoist  to  the  motor.  In  case  of  a  break  down  in  the  motor  insula- 
tion, a  dangerous  condition  of  affairs  is  brought  about. 

All  motors  used  for  the  operation  of  air  compressors  and 
pumps  should  have  their  starters  perfectly  grounded  as  a  matter 
of  precaution  to  the  operators. 

In  the  operation  of  the  Nevada-California  Power  Company, 
all  transformers  in  the  various  sub-stations  are  grounded;  also 
all  lighting  transformers  have  their  neutral  wire  grounded  as 
a  protection  to  the  consumer  and  to  the  linemen  working  on  the 
light  distributing  system. 

The  company  is  operating  parallel  power  transmission  lines 
between  its  hydro-electric  plants,  and  its  distributing  plants. 
These  transmission  lines  total  350  miles  of  three-phase  single- 
circuit  lines  which  are  divided  into  sections  of  25-mile  lengths. 

When  trouble  occurs  along  this  line,  the  particular  section 
is  killed  before  any  linemen  are  permitted  to  make  repairs.  In 
addition  to  opening  switches,  the  linemen  are  instructed  to  use 
short-circuiting  ground  chains  immediately  on  either  side  of  the 
trouble  as  an  additional  safeguard. 


MR.  BABCOCK: 

We  thank  Mr.  Mechling  for  his  valuable  discussion.  Prac- 
tical suggestions  are  very  useful,  and  it  gives  me  great  pleasure 
to  call  upon  a  man  I  know  from  old  acquaintance,  Mr.  F.  0. 
Broili,  Superintendent  of  the  Elko-Lamoille  Power  Company;  a 
man  who  has  grown  up  with  the  electrical  industry  and  whose 
experiences  will  be  of  interest  to  us. 


SAFETY    REGULATIONS    FOR    ELECTRIC    POWER 

COMPANIES 

BY 
F.  0.  BROILI 

It  is  a  well  recognized  fact  that  in  most  damage  suits  that 
are  brought  into  courts,  the  injured  party  was  injured,  appar- 
ently, by  carelessness  or  neglect  on  his  own  part.  When  inves- 
tigated it  is  generally  found  due  to  momentary  forgetfulness. 
If  the  injured  party  had  remembered  at  the  particular  moment 
that  there  was  danger  in  a  certain  operation,  he  would  not  have 
done  what  he  did.  Call  it  what  you  will,  when  thoroughly  ex- 
amined, it  is  generally  momentary  forgetfulness.  Some  peo- 
ple are  more  careless  than  others;  they  take  greater  chances; 
they  estimate  that  they  can  do  things  and  carry  them  to  a  great- 
er extreme  than  prudence  would  justify,  and  some  day,  the 
inevitable  occurs.  They  do  not,  however,  mean  to  get  them- 


78  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

selves  injured;  they  think  that  there  is  no  danger,  or  that  they 
can  escape  the  penalty  of  doing  certain  things.  They  have  done 
these  things  several  times  before  when  everything  was  just 
right,  but  the  unexpected  occurs  in  some  manner,  the  condi- 
tions are  changed  suddenly,  and  they  cannot  escape  being  injur- 
ed or  killed.  This  kind  of  danger,  however,  is  probably  less 
frequent  than  the  other  kind,  that  due  to  momentary  forgetful- 
ness.  Employers  think  that  in  this  case,  they  ought  not  to  be 
held  financially  responsible  for  the  accident.  I  believe  that  a 
broader  view  of  the  matter  should  be  taken,  and  we  should  real- 
ize that  as  long  as  human  nature- is  what  it  is,  we  should  make 
every  endeavor  to  avoid  injury,  even  going  beyond  the  point 
legally  demanded.  Those  who  have  had  damage  suits  decided 
against  them  should  not  look  upon  the  verdict  as  a  charge  of 
neglect  or  carelessness  upon  their  part,  but  should  take  the 
broader  view  that  it  was  an  accident  of  the  industry,  and  that 
the  more  humane  method  is  for  the  industry  to  carry  the  burden 
rather  than  the  individual,  who  almost  invariably  is  less  able  to 
stand  it.  Our  old  law  has  not  been  entirely  just,  for  the  reason 
that  if  the  corporation  or  employer  was  not  financially  able,  a 
heavy  verdict  would  mean  his  ruin,  or  the  victim  not  be  able  to 
obtain  recompense  for  his  injury. 

With  the  present  industrial  insurance  that  we  have  in  this 
State,  the  burden  is  placed  upon  the  industry  as  a  whole,  where 
it  rightfully  and  justly  belongs.  With  this  idea  in  mind,  it  is 
our  duty  to  study  the  experiences  and  ideas  of  others,  as  to  the 
matters  of  safety,  and  to  try  to  get  our  apparatus  into  such 
shape  that  it  is  difficult  for  a  man  who  is  careless  to  get  hurt, 
and  also  to  eliminate  that  more  serious  danger  which  is  that  due 
to  momentary  forgetfulness.  It  is  impossible  for  us,  of  course, 
to  get  all  apparatus  absolutely  safe,  and  the  only  thing  we  can 
do  is  to  impress  it  upon  the  minds  of  the  employees  that  it  is 
expected  of  them  to  be  careful,  and  to  bear  in  mind  constantly 
that  certain  apparatus  is  dangerous.  With  apparatus  that  is 
very  dangerous,  the  back  of  a  switchboard,  for  instance,  which 
the  writer  mentions  because  he  is  more  familiar  with  electrical 
topics,  special  precaution  should  be  taken.  With  small  switch- 
boards, it  is  not  practicable  to  make  them  as  safe  as  in  large 
plants,  where  the  switches  can  be  put  in  cells,  and  all  other  high 
voltage  conductors  well  protected,  so  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
get  at  them.  A  switchboard  should  be  fenced  off,  and  at  the 
back  of  it  there  should  be  a  sign,  "Danger",  "High  Voltage",  or 
something  of  the  kind  which  will  constantly  impress  itself  upon 
the  minds  of  the  operators.  This  danger  sign  should  be  more 
frequently  employed  in  places  where  persons  have  very  little 
occasion  to  go,  because  that  is  a  possible  source  of  danger  not 
often  heeded.  I  believe  that  all  wires  that  are  lower  than  seven 
or  eight  feet  carrying  high  voltage  currents  should  be  protected 
in  every  possible  way  from  accidental  contact.  The  practica- 
bility of  doing  this  in  all  cases  is  not  well  settled. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  79 

The  writer  has  in  mind  one  or  two  cases.  In  one  case,  he 
insulated  some  heavy  bus  bars  carrying  2300  volts.  An  official 
of  the  company,  who  had  had  experience  in  another  company, 
thought  that  this  was  bad  practice,  and  condemned  it  strongly 
on  the  ground  that  in  case  of  a  short  circuit,  the  arc  would  burn 
the  insulation  and  cause  more  destruction  of  property  than 
would  otherwise  occur.  The  writer  held  in  that  particular  case 
the  possibility  of  trouble  arising  with  an  insulated  bus  bar  was 
greatly  reduced;  also  that  there  was  a  source  of  danger  which 
was  of  more  importance  than  any  destruction  of  the  apparatus 
of  the  company,  and  that  was  danger  to  the  operators.  The 
manager  held  that  the  operators  would  have  to  be  careful.  A 
few  weeks  afterward  an  accident  occurred  of  an  unusual  nature. 
An  operator  was  on  a  ladder  some  little  distance  away;  the  lad- 
der slipped,  and  he  fell  across  the  insulated  bus  bar.  He  escap- 
ed without  even  a  scratch.  No  one  will  deny  the  fatal  result, 
had  the  bar  not  been  insulated.  Some  time  afterward,  light- 
ning came  in  there,  destroying  portions  of  the  switchboard.  The 
arcing  that  resulted,  showed  its  mark  on  the  switchboard,  but 
the  insulated  bus  bar  reduced  the  extent  of  the  damage. 

Another  source  of  danger  is  on  oil  break  switches.  At  one 
plant  it  was  decided  not  to  insulate  the  switch  terminals.  The 
writer,  some  time  after  the  switches  were  installed,  in  examin- 
ing the  back  of  the  board,  stumbled,  and,  but  for  quick  recogni- 
tion of  the  danger  of  touching  the  terminals  of  the  switch 
would  have  come  in  contact  with  them,  and  as  it  was,  saved  him- 
self only  by  a  few  inches,  by  catching  the  oil  tank  of  the  switch. 
The  terminals  of  the  switch  were  only  a  few  inches  apart,  and 
some  years  afterward  something  got  between  them,  I  believe  it 
was  a  bat,  causing  a  short  circuit,  with  considerable  interrup- 
tion in  the  service. 

It  is  hard  to  insulate  the  terminals  of  a  great  many  oil- 
break  switches  now  on  the  market.  It  is  a  defect  which  can  be 
satisfactorily  remedied  by  the  manufacturer  only.  This  ought 
to  be  impressed  upon  him  as  a  possible  source  of  danger.  It 
would  not  be  difficult  to  insulate  terminals  wit^  a  bushing  or 
something  of  that  kind.  A  bureau  or  committee  for  the  inter- 
change of  experiences,  by  calling  the  attention  of  the  manufac- 
turer to  such  serious  defects  as  might  exist  in  the  apparatus,  and 
are  disclosed  only  by  actual  experience,  would  probably  meet 
with  good  results.  Experience,  after  all,  is  the  only  true  test 
as  to  whether  certain  apparatus  is  safe.  A  certain  type  of  con- 
struction of  apparatus  is  designed  by  competent  and  experienced 
engineers.  It  is  something  new  in  the  line,  and  no  pains  are 
spared  to  insure  safety.  From  an  unexpected  angle  a  source  of 
danger  develops. 

A  bureau  or  committee,  by  recording  the  experiences,  and 
investigating  the  accidents,  would  be  of  invaluable  assistance  to 
its  members,  calling  their  attention  to  dangers  of  a  similar  na- 
ture, that  might  already  be  existing  in  their  own  system. 


80,  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Working  on  high  tension  lines  is  always  a  source  of  well-rec- 
ognized danger,  especially  where  there  are  a  number  of  power 
houses,  sub-stations  and  lines. 

The  following  rules  were  got  up  for  the  Elko-Lamoille 
Power  Company,  where  there  are  only  two  plants,  a  gas  engine 
plant  at  the  receiving  end,  and  a  water  power  plant  at  the  other 
end,  with  one  line  only  connecting  the  two: 

HIGH  TENSION  LINE  OPERATION 

The  high  tension  line  at  all  times  must  be  handled  as  if 
alive.  Great  care  must  be  used  when  turning  on  the  current 
that  no  one  is  working  on  the  line.  When  current  is  off  the  line, 
and  men  are  working  on  the  line,  a  sign  must  be  hung  on  the 
high  tension  switch  both  at  the  power  house  and  at  Elko,  word- 
ed: "Men  on  line.  Turn  on  current  only  on  orders  from 
— ."  (A  space  is  to  be  left  for  insertion  of  a  card 
giving  name  of  the  party  to  order  current  turned  on.  When 
orders  are  given  to  turn  off  the  current,  it  must  also  be  stated  on 
whose  orders  it  will  be  turned  on.  No  one  else's  order  can  be 
accepted,  except  in  special  cases  where  the  attendant  assures 
hmself  that  the  one  ordering  the  current  back  is  a  responsible 
person,  and  that  he  has  been  authorized  by  the  proper  party. 
The  power  house  attendant  must  assure  himself  thoroughly  on 
this  matter,  regardless  of  who  orders  the  current  turned  on. 

Men  on  the  line  must  always  telephone  to  the  power  house 
before  touching  the  line.  When  informed  that  it  is  dead,  they 
must  then  ground  the  line  properly.  The  proper  way  to  ground 
a  line  is  to  drive  a  steel  peg  about  two  feet  long  into  the  ground 
with  grounding  wire  attached  before  going  up  the  pole,  then 
hooking  the  wire  over  the  line.  WThen  connecting  to  the  line, 
hook  it  solid.  Do  not  touch  it  to  see  if  it  arcs,  as  you  might 
draw  the  arc  against  yourself. 

The  telephoning  and  grounding  can  be  dispensed  with  un- 
der certain  conditions,  namely,  if  the  line  is  completely  down  and 
men  are  sent  out  in  an  auto  and  dropped  off  every  few  miles  to 
patrol  the  line.  They  must,  however,  have  a  written  order  from 
some  responsible  person  saying  that  the  current  will  be  off.  Said 
person  will  take  down  the  names  of  the  men  authorized  to  work 
on  the  line,  and  until  they  are  all  accounted  for,  he  cannot  order 
the  current  turned  back  on  the  line.  The  only  persons  author- 
ized to  give  orders  as  above  are  B.  G.  McBride,  F.  0.  Broili  and 
C.  A.  Stephenson.  In  no  case,  however,  are  the  men  to  be  sent 
out  to  work  on  the  lines  without  grounding  one  or  both  ends. 

The  instructions  issued  by  the  Public  Service  Commission 
of  Nevada  entitled  "Safety  Regulations  for  Electric  Utilities", 
are  made  a  part  of  these  rules,  and  all  employees  must  read  them 
carefully,  especially  paragraphs  6  to  27. 

All  employees  must  sign  these  rules,  stating  that  they  have 
read,  and  thoroughly  understand  them. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  81 

MR.  BABCOCK: 

I  will  call  on  Mr.  L.  W.  Crehore,  of  the  Fallon  Municipal 
Plant,  for  the  next  discussion. 


SAFETY  REGULATIONS  AT  THE   FALLON    (NEVADA), 

MUNICIPAL  ELECTRIC  PLANT. 

BY 

L.  W.  CREHORE,  Electrical  Engineer  in  Charge 

Safety  should  be  one  of  the  first  considerations  of  every 
power  plant  and  distributing  system.  This  applies  in  a  more 
marked  degree  perhaps  to  those  operated  by  municipalities  than 
to  others.  Disregarding  the  fundamental  principle  that  no  per- 
son nor  group  of  persons  has  a  right  to  sacrifice  human  life  or  be 
responsible  either  directly  or  indirectly  for  damage  to  property 
or  personal  injury,  and  considering  the  subject  from  a  purely 
commercial  point  of  view,  it  is  a  fact  that  municipalities  are  in 
nearly  all  cases  forced  to  pay  larger  sums  to  liquidate  damage 
claims  than  are  private  corporations,  resulting  necessarily  in 
high  cost  of  service  and  in  some  instances  increased  taxation, 
to  say  nothing  of  censure  brought  upon  public  officials  and 
through  them  upon  the  citizens  themselves. 

Early  in  1912  the  City  of  Fallon  in  this  State  through  its 
Mayor,  George  Sherman,  and  City  Council,  issued  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  $15,000  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  municipal 
electric  distributing  system,  and  entered  into  a  contract  with  the 
U.  S.  Reclamation  Service  for  a  power  supply  to  be  delivered  at 
2300  volts  at  a  sub-station  located  near  the  city  limits.  The 
building  of  the  system  was  commenced  in  the  summer  of  the 
same  year  and  S1/?  miles  of  line  were  completed  September  21st, 
on  which  date  service  to  customers  commenced. 

Standard  construction  was  used  throughout  the  entire  work 
and  no  labor  or  expense  was  spared  to  make  a  safe  installaton 
in  every  respect.  The  city  pumping  plant  is  electrically  oper- 
ated through  automatic  control.  The  automatic  control  is  per- 
haps a  source  of  danger  due  to  the  fact  that  the  machinery  is 
liable  to  start  at  any  moment  without  warning  to  men  working 
around  it.  Conspicuous  notices  are  posted  calling  attention  to 
this  fact. 

By  arrangement  with  the  U.  S.  Reclamation  Service  Elec- 
tric Power  Plant,  the  power  is  cut  off  from  the  Fallon  sub-sta- 
tion when  requested  by  proper  authority.  The  power  must  not 
be  thrown  on  again  except  on  request  of  the  person  ordering  it 
thrown  off.  All  employees  of  the  Fallon  system  are  instructed 
to  take  no  risks  of  any  kind  in  working  on  high  voltage  lines. 
Requests  to  throw  off  the  power  on  any  primary  line  before 
working  on  same,  are  always  granted  without  question.  Fal- 


82  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Ion  requires  buildings  to  be  wired  in  accordance  with  the  Na- 
tional Electric  Code,  and  furthermore,  requires  that  no  electric 
fixtures  be  installed  within  reach  of  a  shower  bath,  tub  or  wash 
basin. 


MR.  BABCOCK: 

We  will  now  call  on  Mr.  Joseph  Beane,  Electrical  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Lahontan  Plant  of  the  U.  S.  Reclamation  Service, 
for  a  discussion. 


SAFETY  DEVICES   ON  THE  LAHONTAN  POWER  LINE 

BY 

JOSEPH  BEANE,  Electrical  Superintendent  Lahontan  Plant 

The  U.  S.  R.  S.  Lahontan  Power  House  is  a  reinforced  con- 
crete building  32x37  feet  and  supplies  power  for  construction 
work  relative  to  the  Lahontan  Storage  Dam.  There  is  at  pres- 
ent a  connected  motor  load  of  1100-H.P.,  800  of  which  is  in- 
termitting duty  such  as  winch,  cable  way,  electric  shovel,  and 
dragline  motor,  the  other  300-H.P.  being  of  a  fairly  steady 
nature. 

The  Government  also  has  a  contract  with  the  City  of  Fallen 
to  supply  it  power;  24-hour  service  is  maintained  to  fulfill  this 
contract. 

The  installation  at  the  power  house  consists  of  duplicate 
units  each  with  a  2000  volt  General  Electric  Alternating  Cur- 
rent Generator  rated  at  625  K.V.A.  on  an  80  per  cent,  power 
factor,  directly  connected  with  a  Pelton  Francis  Horizontal  Tur- 
bine of  1000-H.P.  operating  on  a  110  foot  head.  Belted  to  the 
governor  shaft  is  a  20-H.P.  120-volt  exciter. 

Speed  regulation  is  obtained  by  the  use  of  Pelton  Oil  Pres- 
sure Governors,  belt-driven  from  the  turbine  shaft.  Tapping 
each  scroll  case  is  a  12  inch  flange  to  which  is  bolted  a  relief 
valve  or  pressure  regulator.  These  are  connected  by  suitable 
links  to  the  governor  rocker  shaft  and  at  present  under  the 
severe  load  conditions  are  cut  in  a  synchronous  by-pass,  helping 
materially  in  keeping  a  constant  penstock  pressure. 

The  switchboard  consists  of  a  direct  current  panel,  two 
generators,  and  three  feeder  panels.  The  2200-volt  oil  switches 
are  mounted  six  feet  back  of  the  board  giving  remote  control 
through  suitable  levers  and  bell  cranks.  The  frame  work  and 
all  switches  connecting  levers  are  thoroughly  grounded  so  that 
there  is  no  possibility  of  a  potential  in  excess  of  that  carried  by 
the  instrument  leads  coming  in  contact  with  the  switchboard. 

"Warning,  do  not  close  this  switch",  signs  are  used  when 
switches  are  opened  to  allow  work  on  the  feeders  or  lines,  and 
note  is  made  in  the  station  log  of  who  requested  the  opening, 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  83 

and  the  switch  is  not  closed  until  the  workman  requesting  the 
same  to  be  opened,  reports  clear. 

Shutting  off  each  end  of  the  space  behind  the  switchboard 

is  a  picket  fence  made  up  of  seasoned  Oregon  pine  with  2  inches 
by  4  inches  stringers  running  horizontal  and  %  inch  by  1% 
inch  pickets  5  feet  long.  The  lumber  was  given  a  good  rubbing 
with  raw  linseed  oil  before  installing,  and  for  a  cheap  installa- 
tion has  a  neat  appearance.  In  one  section  is  a  gate  fastened 
with  a  spring  lock  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  secure  the  key  before 
going  behind  the  switchboard. 

One  end  of  the  power  house  floor  is  laid  out  with  the 
idea  of  installing  high  voltage  transformers  for  transmission 
but  the  City  of  Fallon  contract  would  not  warrant  a  permanent 
installation ;  so  3-150  K.V.A. -19000  volts  star  connected  trans- 
formers with  a  grounded  neutral  are  used  temporarily  with  no 
meter  connections  or  oil  switches  on  the  high  voltage  side,  taps 
being  run  direct  from  one  of  the  feeder  switches,  and  the 
line  and  transformers  protected  by  electrolytic  arresters. 

Eight-foot  pieces  of  No.  5  copper  cable  with  a  lug  soldered  in 
one  end  and  a  spring  jaw  on  the  other  are  kept  with  the  regular 
tool  equipment,  and  any  time  that  it  is  necessary  to  do  work  in 
this  section  the  oil  switch  between  the  generator  busses  and 
transformers  is  opened ;  the  lugs  are  bolted  to  a  ground  lead  and 
by  means  of  a  switch  stick  the  spring  jaws  are  slipped  over  a 
bare  section  of  the  2200-volt  side  of  the  transformer  leads,  thus 
assuring  protection  to  the  workman  even  if  the  oil  switch 
should  be  closed  through  carelessness. 

This  33,000-volt  section  is  surrounded  by  a  6-foot  picket 
fence  similar  to  that  used  on  the  ends  of  the  switchboard  and 
also  has  a  gate  fitted  with  a  spring  lock.  At  each  end  of  the 
33,000-volt  transmission  line  ground  plates  are  buried,  and  bolt- 
ed to  those  plates  are  30  feet  of  No.  5  copper  cable  with  12  feet 
of  3-16  chain  on  the  end,  and  before  the  power  house  operator 
reports  the  line  dead  after  opening  the  switch  he  must  ground 
the  wires  by  throwing  the  chain  over  the  line,  the  ground  to 
remain  on  until  the  workmen  report  clear. 

As  the  construction  camp  telephone  and  2300-volt  distribu- 
tion lines  are  on  the  same  poles,  where  practical,  and  the  latter 
is  of  a  more  or  less  temporary  nature,  all  telephones  are  install- 
ed 6  inches  higher  than  standard  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  stand 
on  an  insulated  stool  before  they  can  be  reached  for  use. 

For  drops  to  the  transformer,  crossing  under  construction 
railroad  tracks,  2300-volt  motors,  electrical  shovel,  etc.,  2300- 
volt,  3-conductor  armored  cable  is  used  with  a  ground  lead  fas- 
tened to  the  armor.  As  a  factor  of  safety  and  convenience  for 
work  of  this  kind  too  much  cannot  be  said  for  the  use  of  this 
cable. 


84  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

MR.  BABCOCK: 

It  is  customary  for  a  person  delivering  a  formal  address  to 
make  a  few  remarks  at  the  close  of  the  discussion,  but  as  Mr. 
Freudenberger  is  not  present  I  would  like  to  contribute  a  few 
words  to  the  discussion,  by  way  of  closing.  The  main  point 
being  "the  divided  responsibility  wherever  there  is  an  accident." 
The  men  themselves  are  wilfully  careless.  We  have  all  experi- 
enced it.  Nevertheless  there  is  a  divided  responsibility  when- 
ever there  is  an  accident.  This  point  of  view  is  so  obvious  as  to 
require  no  remark. 

The  second  point  is  the  responsibility  of  the  foreman  of 
construction.  I  myself,  have  a  death  on  my  memory  that  was 
caused  partly  through  carelessness  on  my  part,  when  I  was  a 
very  young  construction  foreman.  I  sent  a  carpenter  to  take 
down  some  scaffolding.  The  roof  was  an  ordinary  incline  roof, 
and  the  space  between  the  wires  and  the  work  was  less  than 
three  feet.  It  never  occurred  to  me  that  a  carpenter  begins  to 
take  down  his  scaffolding  from  the  top  where  a  lineman  begins 
to  take  his  work  down  at  the  farthest  end  of  the  wires.  This 
man  crawled  into  the  three-foot  space,  and  when  I  took  him 
down,  he  was  the  most  pitiful  specimen  of  a  man  I  have  ever 
seen,  and  I  don't  want  to  see  it  again. 

There  is  the  further  responsibility  of  the  corporation  or  the 
company  to  its  men,  and  apart  from  all  this  shouting  of  safety 
first  and  claiming  of  damages.  It  is  the  solemn  duty,  not  only 
to  save  money  for  our  stockholders,  but  also  to  save  our  men 
for  their  families.  These  points  are  being  recognized. 

Another  thing  is  publicity.  Whenever  there  is  an  accident 
on  the  Southern  Pacific,  they  call  for  an  investigation.  The 
meeting  is  open  to  the  newspapers  and  prominent  citizens.  The 
fact  that  the  trainman  knows  he  is  to  be  called  up  before  a  meet- 
ing of  his  fellow  citizens  is  to  me  an  excellent  thing.  Making 
the  matter  open  to  the  public,  I  believe  is  one  of  the  finest  move- 
ments ever  thought  of. 

Then  there  is  the  inspections  of  the  insurance  companies. 
We  lately  have  had  insurance  experts  going  all  over  our  system 
and  suggesting  improvements  and  modifications  of  this  and  01 
that  to  make  the  work  safe  for  the  men.  I  am  pleased  to  say 
that  our  electric  safety  devices  and  regulations  received  their 
commendation. 

For  the  concluding  paper  of  this  meeting  we  will  call  upon 
Mr.  R.  M.  Alvord  of  the  General  Electric  Company, 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  85 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  ELECTRICAL  MANUFAC- 
TURING INDUSTRY. 

BY 
R.  M.  ALVORD 

It  is  only  thirty-six  years  ago  that  Edison  began  the  inves- 
tigations which  resulted,  two  years  later,  in  the  invention  of  the 
incandescent  lamp.  Yet  the  electric  lighting,  power  and  trac- 
tion interests  compose  to-day  one  of  the  greatest  industries  in 
the  world. 

Th  General  Electric  Company  and  the  companies  which 
went  into  its  organization  in  1892  have  been  so  closely  associated 
with  the  growth  and  development  of  the  electrical  manufactur- 
ing industry  that  the  history  of  one  is  the  history  of  both. 
Therefore,  if  we  will  trace  the  growth  of  these  companies  we 
will  have  a  very  good  idea  of  the  development  of  the  industry  as 
a  whole. 

As  Mr.  Edison  and  Mr.  Elihu  Thomson  started  their  work 
on  the  incandescent  lamp  respectively  about  the  same  time,  and 
as  the  companies  which  were  organized  to  manufacture  their 
inventions  were  finally  consolidated  to  form  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company,  we  will  follow  the  growth  of  the  Edison  Com- 
panies and  of  the  Thomson-Houston  Company  along  together. 

In  considering  the  early  history  of  the  industry  we  should 
keep  in  mind  four  men  who  have  had  very  much  to  do,  not  only 
with  the  early  successes,  but  with  the  present  day  successes  of 
the  General  Electric  Company.  These  four  men  are  Mr. 
Thomas  A.  Edison,  the  Inventor,  Prof.  Elihu  Thomson,  the  In- 
ventor and  Engineer,  Mr.  C.  A.  Coffin  and  Mr.  E.  W.  Rice,  Jr. 
The  last  two  are  at  present  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
and  President,  respectively,  of  the  General  Electric  Company. 

Now,  thirty  years  ago  these  were  comparatively  young  men. 
Mr.  Coffin,  for  instance,  who  is  the  oldest  of  the  four,  was  born 
in  1844.  He  became  interested  in  electrical  business  in  the  year 
1883,  and  therefore  was  39  years  of  age  at  that  time.  Mr.  Cof- 
fin originally  was  a  shoe  manufacturer  and  a  very  successful 
one — active  and  energtic,  and,  although  he  was  a  business  man, 
his  ideas  with  regard  to  design  were  very  good  indeed.  A 
great  many  times,  upon  seeing  a  piece  of  apparatus  for  the  first 
time,  he  would  ask  some  question  that  would  call  the  attention  of 
his  engineering  associates  to  certain  features  that  had  not  occur- 
red to  any  of  them. 

Mr.  Thomas  A.  Edison  was  born  in  1847.  He  began  his 
work  in  electric  lighting  along  in  1878.  He  was  31  years  of  age 
at  that  time. 

Prof.  Elihu  Thomson  was  born  in  1853,  so  he  was  but  25 
years  of  age  when  he  began  his  work  in  electric  lighting  in  1878. 


86  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Mr.  Rice,  who  joined  Prof.  Thomson  in  1880,  was  born  in 
1862,  so  he  was  but  18  years  of  age  when  he  started  in.  At  that 
time  these  men  were  young  in  years  and  therefore  were  young 
in  experience. 

Now,  about  the  early  undertakings.  It  is  not  necessary  for 
me  to  say  that  Mr.  Edison  began  his  work  on  incandescent 
lamps.  With  the  manufacture  of  lamps  it  was  necessary  to 
manufacture  generators  to  generate  the  electricity  to  operate 
these  lamps,  and  that  constituted  the  entire  work  of  the  original 
Edison  Company. 

Prof  Thomson  began  his  work  with  arc  lighting  apparatus 
— the  arc  light  and  the  generator.  Previous  to  Prof.  Thomson's 
practical  work,  he  taught  Chemistry  and  Mechanics  in  the  Phila- 
delphia Central  High  School.  Some  of  you  are  familiar  with 
the  Thomson  dynamo,  with  its  unique  features — spherical  arma- 
ture and  cup-shaped  fields.  It  was  unique  at  that  time  and  is 
unique  to-day  and  shows  the  great  originality  of  Prof  Thomson. 
That  was  in  1879. 

In  1884  the  Thomson-Houston  Company  began  the  manu- 
facture of  incandescent  lamps,  which  were  used  with  a  piece  of 
apparatus  called  a  "distributor",  through  which  the  constant 
current  of  9.6  amperes  was  carried  and  split  into  ten  circuits. 
Arrangements  were  made  so  that  if  a  filament  broke  a  little 
keeper  dropped  and  cut  in  an  equivalent  resistance.  That  was 
the  beginning  of  the  Thomson-Houston  Company's  work  in  that 
line.  In  1885  and  1886  this  incandescent  lamp  work  of  the 
Thomson-Houston  Company  went  up  to  110  volts  and  they  began 
the  manufacture  of  generators  for  supplying  energy  at  that  volt- 
age. In  1886  and  1887,  Prof.  Thomson  resumed  work  in  alter- 
nating current  in  a  very  active  way. 

In  1887  the  Edison  Company  began  the  manufacture  of 
stationary  motors  for  the  Sprague  Company,  and  that  finally 
led  Mr.  Sprague  to  develop  railway  apparatus.  The  Thomson- 
Houston  Company  also  manufactured  stationary  motors.  In 
1887  and  1888  both  companies  were  manufacturing  railway  ap- 
paratus. The  first  railway  apparatus  manufactured  by  the  Ed- 
ison Company  for  Mr.  Sprague  was  the  famous  Richmond  instal- 
lation— the  electrical  railway  in  Richmond,  Va.  The  first  rail- 
way that  the  Thomson-Houston  Company  equipped  was  the  Ben- 
tly-Knight  Railway  Company,  which  was  an  organization  entire- 
ly separate  from  the  Thomson-Houston  Company,  and  they  had 
patented  some  devices  for  underground  conduit.  They  had  no 
factory  of  their  own  and  they  came  to  the  Thomson-Houston 
Company  for  the  apparatus.  The  first  apparatus  which  the 
Bently-Knight  Company  installed  was  at  Woonsocket,  R.  I.,  and 
then  a  larger  one  in  Alleghaney,  Pa.  Part  of  this  latter  was 
underground  conduit  and  a  portion  of  it  overhead,  with  vertical 
wires,  and  a  device  running  on  two  wheels  collected  the  current. 

The  first  incorporated  organization  of  the  Edison  interests 
was  known  as  the  Edison  Electric  Company,  with  a  capital  of 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  87 

$300,000.  It  manufactured  at  Menlo  Park  not  only  incandes- 
cent lamps  but  generators,  and  did  a  vast  amount  of  experimen- 
tal work.  That  leads  me  to  say,  just  by  way  of  comparison, 
that  different  methods  were  used  by  Mr.  Edison  and  Prof.  Thom- 
son. Mr.  Edison  would  go  into  any  particular  field  and  would 
interest  everyone  in  sight,  and  by  "cutting  and  trying"  work 
out  in  some  shape  anything  that  showed  possibilities.  Prof. 
Thomson,  on  the  other  hand,  adopted  the  analytical  method.  He 
would  work  out  things  in  his  own  mind,  and  in  some  ways  the 
progress  which  he  made  was  much  more  rapid  than  that  of  Mr. 
Edison,  and  of  course  from  an  economical  standpoint  there  was 
a  great  advantage. 

I  think  you  are  all  familiar  with  the  investigation  started 
by  Mr.  Edison  that  led  to  the  adoption  of  bamboo  as  the  filament 
for  incandescent  lamps.  A  number  of  men  were  sent  all  over 
the  world  to  discover  all  kinds  of  vegetable  fibre. 

The  Thomson-Houston  Company  had  its  beginning  in  a 
small  machine  shop  on  Buttonwood  St.,  Philadelphia,  where  an 
experimental  arc  machine  and  some  arc  lamps  were  manufac- 
tured. Prof.  Thomson  himself  wound  the  armature  and  fields, 
etc.,  for  this  machine,  and  when  it  was  completed  and  tested,  it 
was  found  that  it  would  carry  eight  lamps  in  series.  The  ma- 
chine and  lamps  were  installed  in  a  very  large  bakery,  and  the 
average  temperature  of  the  oven  rooms  was  140  degrees.  These 
lamps  required  a  good  deal  of  nursing  on  the  part  of  Prof.  Thom- 
son, and  you  can  imagine  the  discomfort  of  working  in  that  tem- 
perature. The  work  which  Prof.  Thomson  did  at  that  time  led 
to  the  organization  in  the  spring  of  1880  of  what  was  known  as 
the  American  Electric  Company  with  a  capital  of  $125,000,  and 
a  small  factory  in  New  Britain,  Conn.,  was  equipped  to  manu- 
facture apparatus. 

We  shall  now  go  back  to  the  work  of  the  Edison  Company. 
They  soon  discovered  that  their  facilities  at  Menlo  Park  were 
inadequate,  and  in  1881  the  machine  tools  were  removed  to  a 
factory  on  Arch  St.,  New  York  City.  The  lamps  were  still  man- 
ufactured at  Menlo  Park,  and  a  little  later  on  a  factory  was 
started  at  Harrison,  N.  J. 

In  1882,  the  affairs  of  the  American  Electric  Company  were 
thrown  into  a  critical  condition  by  the  threatened  purchase  of 
a  controlling  amount  of  stock  by  the  Brush  Company.  Charles 
Brush,  if  you  will  remember,  was  the  original  manufacturer  of 
arc  lamps  in  this  country.  His  company  soon  became  very  ac- 
tive, and  it  did  not  take  them  long  to  discover  that  the  apparatus 
made  by  the  American  Electric  Company  was  a  success  ,and  they 
expected,  by  the  purchase,  to  shelve  it.  However,  there  was  a 
clause  in  Prof.  Thomson's  contract,  that  no  purchase  or  sale  of 
stock  could  be  made  without  his  consent,  and  the  Brush  Com- 
pany was  balked. 

Just  about  this  time  a  demonstration  outfit  had  been  placed 
in  the  City  of  Lynn  by  the  American  Electric  Company,  and  it 


88  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

attracted  the  attention  of  a  number  of  Lynn  manufacturers, 
among  whom  was  Mr.  Coffin.  They  went  to  New  Britain,  look- 
ed the  factory  over,  became  more  interested  and  decided  to  buy 
the  company.  That  was  in  1882.  In  the  spring  of  1883,  the 
company  was  reorganized  and  the  name  changed  from  the  Amer- 
ican Electric  Company  to  the  Thomson-Houston  Electric  Com- 
pany. 

Prof.  Houston  was  also  connected  with  the  Central  High 
School  at  Philadelphia,  and  naturally  he  and  Prof.  Thomson 
were  thrown  together  in  the  early  experimental  work.  The  re- 
sult of  this  experimental  work  was  some  eight  or  ten  joint 
patents,  and  those  joint  patents  furnished  the  basis  for  the 
organization  of  this  company,  so  that  naturally  it  was  called  the 
Thomson-Houston  Electric  Company  and  the  capital  was  in- 
creased to  $250,000. 

In  addition  to  Mr.  Coffin,  who  was  Vice-President,  the  other 
Lynn  gentlemen  were  Mr.  Peaver,  who  was  a  large  morocco 
manufacturer  and  was  President  of  the  Thomson-Houston  Elec- 
tric Company,  Mr.  J.  N.  Smith,  Mr.  Spinney  and  Mr.  S.  A.  Bar- 
ton, who  was  perhaps  the  most  active  in  getting  the  other  Lynn 
gentlemen  interested.  Mr.  S.  A.  Barton  for  a  number  of  years 
was  the  General  Manager  of  the  Thomson-Houston  Company. 
These  gentlemen  preferred  to  have  the  manufacturing  done  in 
that  city,  so  in  the  fall  of  1883  about  a  hundred  men  and  all  the 
tools  were  transferred  from  New  Britain  to  Lynn,  Mass. 

I  said  that  in  1881  the  Edison  generators  were  made  in  New 
York  City.  In  1884,  that  work  had  become  large  enough  to  re- 
quire a  separate  organization  for  the  manufacture  of  genera- 
tors, and  the  organization  was  called  the  Edison  Machine  Works, 
with  a  capital  of  $200,000.  During  the  same  year  the  incandes- 
cent lamp  business  was  organized  under  a  separate  organiza- 
tion called  the  Edison  Electric  Lamp  Company,  with  a  capital  of 
$250,000.  Then  in  1885  Mr.  Edison  did  a  great  deal  of  work  in 
design  and  the  working  out  of  a  system  of  underground  con- 
ductors, and  this  company  was  managed  by  Mr.  John  Kruesi, 
who  afterward  became  Manager  of  the  Schenectady  Works. 
Shortly  after,  they  began  the  manufacture  of  shafting,  pulleys 
and  hangers,  and  in  1885  a  ten  thousand-dollar  corporation  was 
formed  for  that  work.  Later  on  the  Edison  Company  for  Iso- 
lated Lighting  was  formed,  also  the  Sprague  Electric  Railway 
&  Motor  Company.  So  that  you  see  the  Edison  Company  had  a 
number  of  organizations,  while  the  Thomson-Houston  Company 
had  but  one. 

In  1889,  the  Thomson  Electric  Company  turned  the  tables 
on  the  Brush  Company  and  bought  it  outright.  In  1886,  the 
Thomson-Houston  Electric  Company  bought  the  Van  Depoele 
Company  and  thereby  became  the  owners  of  Mr.  Van  Depoele's 
valuable  patents  on  railway  apparatus.  There  were  also  several 
other  companies  bought ;  the  Schuyler  Electric  Company,  which 
manufactured  arc  lighting  apparatus  and  the  Excelsior  Com- 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  80 

pany.  These  were  all  competitors  of  the  Thomson-Houston 
Electric  Company  in  the  arc-lighting  field,  and  were  not  strong 
financially.  It  was  very  important  in  those  days  that  an  elec- 
trical manufacturing  company  not  only  manufacture  and  sell 
the  apparatus  but  that  they  also  aid  in  financing  the  local  light- 
ing companies,  which  were  organizing  throughout  the  country, 
by  taking  a  large  amount  of  the  lighting  companies  stock  in 
payment  for  apparatus.  So  these  smaller  corporations  that  did 
not  have  strong  financial  backing  had  hard  sledding.  But  they 
owned  some  very  important  patents  and  some  engineering  tal- 
ent, so  that  in  1890  the  Thomson-Houston  Company  bought  these 
two  companies. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  "Why  or  how  did  it  happen 
that  the  Edison  Company  came  to  Schenectady  ?"  In  1885  and 

1886  Henry  George  was  stirring  up  things  political  in  New  York. 
He  stood  as  the  laboring  man's  friend  and  when  he  was  elected 
Mayor  the  laboring  man  was  going  to  get  everything.     That 
promise  had  a  rather  bad  effect  on  the  labor  conditions,  and  as 
a  result  there  occured  a  large  number  of  strikes  in  the  different 
manufacturing  organizations  in  New  York.     The  Edison  Com- 
pany had  two  or  three  strikes  in  their  shops,  and  decided  to 
leave  New  York.     Their  traveling  men  were  instructed  to  keep 
their  eyes  open  for  a  suitable  location  and  buildings. 

Buildings  Nos.  10  and  12  at  Schenectady  were  miilt  along  in 
1883  and  1884  by  the  McQueen  Locomotive  Company.  Mr. 
McQueen  had  been  Master  Mechanic  of  the  Schenectady  Loco- 
motive Company,  and,  because  of  some  dissatisfaction,  decided 
to  start  another  factory  of  his  own.  Just  about  that  time  his 
principal  financial  factor  died,  and  the  other  locomotive  com- 
pany realizing  that  it  would  not  do  to  have  two  locomotive  works 
in  the  same  town  no  doubt  had  something  to  do  with  the  aban- 
donment of  the  project. 

One  day  a  representative  of  the  Edison  Company,  passing 
on  a  New  York  Central  train,  noticed  these  two  buildings,  made 
inquiry  and  learned  that  they  were  for  sale.  Negotiations  were 
started,  and  as  the  story  has  been  told  me,  purchase  was  made 
within  ten  days  and  the  moving  began  the  latter  part  of  Novem- 
ber, 1886.  It  was  understood  that  Schenectady  was  a  temporary 
location  and  a  permanent  location  would  be  found  later.  In 

1887  and  1888,  the  business  grew  very  rapidly  and  those  two 
biuldings  were  augmented  by  others.     In  1892,  when  the  con- 
solidation was  effected,  it  was  found  that  the  buildings  in  Schen- 
ectady were  better  adapted  for  manufacturing  large  generators 
than  those  at  Lynn,  and  the  manufacture  of  large  apparatus 
was  transferred  to  Schenectady.     Schenectady  was  found  to  be 
a  very  good  railroad  center  and  only  a  few  hours  from  New 
York,  and  it  was  not  very  long  before  we  found  that  Schenectady 
was  a  very  good  labor  market.     So  that  the  locating  of  the  works 
at  Schenectady  was  due  to  a  chance  look  from  a  window  of  a 
New  York  Central  train. 


90  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

In  August,  1890,  all  of  the  various  Edison  corporations  that 
I  have  enumerated  were  thrown  into  one  organization.  They 
no  doubt  found  that  it  was  rather  cumbersome  to  deal  with  so 
many  heads.  That  organization  was  called  the  Edison  General 
Electric  Company,  with  Henry  Villard,  the  great  financier,  as  its 
President. 

The  twelve  years  prior  to  1892  were,  in  the  history  of  elec- 
trical industries,  an  era  of  invention  and  preparation ;  incandes- 
cent and  arc  lighting  and  electric  traction  were  growir-or  arts, 
but  were  so  clouded  and  delayed  up  to  1892  by  the  clash  of  diver- 
gent methods,  that  only  a  few  realized  their  vast  future  utility. 
The  two  companies  that  we  have  been  considering  were  getting 
into  the  same  field.  Competition  was  getting  more  severe  all  the 
time  and,  of  course,  the  companies  were  fighting  each  other  in 
patents  as  well  as  in  sales.  A  number  of  stockholders  were 
common  to  both  companies.  Some  of  them  had  broad  vision  and 
saw  the  great  possibilities  in  combining  the  engineering  and 
financial  talent.  This  consolidation  was  finally  effected  in  Feb- 
ruary of  1892.  Legally  it  dates  from  May  1st  of  that  year,  but 
in  fact  the  organization  was  effected  the  latter  part  of  February. 

The  General  Elecetric  Company  acquired  as  its  formation 
all  the  capital  stock  of  the  Edison  General  Electric  Company,  of 
the  Thomson-Houston  Electric  Company,  and  of  the  Thomson- 
Houston  International  Electric  Company. 

Never  in  the  industrial  world  did  organization  effect  a  more 
magical  change  in  releasing  pent  energy.  Guided  by  master 
hands,  electrical  arts  leaped  into  industrial  pre-eminence;  vol- 
ume of  manufacture  of  appliances,  progress  of  invention,  public 
confidence  in  electricity,  and  its  general  utilization,  all  took  long 
strides  forward. 

The  growth  of  the  industry  may  be  shown  by  the  Com- 
pany's annual  reports  of  Sales  Billed  since  the  consolidation : 

YEAR  AMOUNT 

1893  .  $12,102,000 

1894  12,540,000 

1895  12,730,000 

1896 12,541,000 

1897  12,396,000 

1898  15,679,400 

1899  22,379,500 

1900  28,783,300 

1901  32,338,000 

1902  36,685,000 

1903  41,699,600 

1904  39,231,300 

1905  43,147,000 

1906  60,071,900 

1907  70,977,000 

1908  44,541,700 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  91 

YEAR  AMOUNT 

1909  (11  months) 51,656,600 

1910  71,478,500 

1911  70,383,900 

1912   89,182,200 

After  the  formation  of  the  General  Electric  Company  there 
were  several  more  purchases  made.  The  first  one  was  that  of 
the  Eickmeyer  Company.  Mr.  Eickmeyer  had  been  a  designer 
of  hat  machinery,  and  he  became  interested  in  electrical  appar- 
atus and  made  a  number  of  very  important  electric  inventions. 
With  this  purchase  came  Dr.  Steinmetz.  He  was  not  discovered 
at  that  time,  so  that  the  purchase  of  the  Eickmeyer  Company 
really  discovered  Dr.  Steinmetz.  Then  came  the  purchase  of  the 
Siemens  &  Halske  Company  of  America.  They  had  a  factory  in 
Chicago  and  they  controlled  the  Stanley  Company  at  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  and  the  Northern  Electrical  Company  at  Madison,  Wis. 
A  little  later  the  Fort  Wayne  Works  and  the  Sprague  Electric 
Works  were  acquired.  More  recently  there  has  been  added  to 
the  organization  the  National  Lamp  Company,  whose  factories 
for  the  manufacture  of  incandescent  lamps  are  located  in  and 
around  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

In  addition  to  the  manufacturing  plants  in  this  country, 
the  Company  has  organized  a  factory  in  Rugby,  England,  called 
the  British  Thomson-Houston  Company,  one  in  Japan,  and  a 
number  of  years  ago,  before  the  consolidation,  the  Thomson- 
Houston  Company  started  a  factory  in  Germany.  It  was  called 
the  Union  Electricitats  Geselschaft.  Part  of  the  stock  was 
owned  by  local  German  capitalists,  and  as  the  works  grew  and 
they  discovered  it  was  a  money  maker,  they  wanted  to  get  con- 
trol of  it,  and  finally  the  General  Electric  Company  sold  all  of 
their  stock.  The  Compaigne  Francaise  Thomson-Houston,  in 
Paris,  began  in  the  same  way. 

A  review  of  the  present  manufacturing  equipment  in  this 
country  may  be  helpful  in  fully  comprehending  the  phenomenal 
growth  which  that  industry  has  enjoyed  since  1892. 

The  General  Electric  Company  has  important  manufactur- 
ing plants  located  at  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  Lynn  and  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  Harrison,  Watsessing  and  Newark,  N.  J.,  Erie,  Pa.,  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  and  lesser  plants  at  many 
other  points.  (Toledo-East  Boston).  The  total  land  area  of 
these  works  is  921  acres;  the  total  floor  space  of  the  buildings 
is  over  10,000,000  square  feet,  and  the  numer  of  employees  over 
50,000. 

The  Company  maintains  a  system  of  standardizing,  testing 
and  research  laboratories  where  the  most  suitable  materials  to 
be  used  in  construction  are  determined  by  chemical  and  mechan- 
ical analysis ;  new  methods  and  means  of  manufacture  are  care- 
fully sought  after  and  perfected,  and  new  machinery  invented  or 
existing  products  perfected. 


92  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Among  the  results  achieved  in  the  laboratories  may  be 
mentioned  prominently  the  perfection  of  the  Curtis  steam  tur- 
bine, the  D'Arsonval  instrument  and  various  heating  and  cook- 
ing devices,  and  the  perfection  of  the  mercury  arc  rectifiers,  the 
G.  E.  induction  motor  and  the  GEM  or  metallized  filament  incan- 
descent lamp. 

A  recent  and  revolutionary  invention  was  that  of  the 
"Drawn  Wire"  Mazda  lamp,  which  has  been  followed  more  re- 
cently by  the  so-called  gettered  Mazda  lamp  which  promises  to 
give  us  a  commercial  incandescent  lamp  whose  efficiency  in  large 
units  will  be  about  one-half  watt  per  mean  horizontal  candle 
power. 

The  General  Office  and  the  largest  works  are  at  Schenec- 
tady.  This  factory  has  a  ground  area  of  335  acres,  a  total  floor 
space  of  about  5,000,000  square  feet.  The  largest  building  is 
No.  60,  295  feet  wide  and  800  feet  long ;  with  galleries,  etc.  The 
total  floor  space  of  the  building  is  490,00  square  feet.  Installed 
in  this  works  are  about  10,000  machine  tools,  210  traveling 
cranes,  and  7,000  motors ;  3,000  arc  lamps  and  hundreds  of  Maz- 
da lamps  are  used  to  light  the  buildings  and  grounds. 

Under  the  head  of  Safety,  I  might  say  that  the  Company 
has  always  realized  the  importance  of  properly  protecting  all 
machine  tools  and  other  appliances  used  in  the  various  plants; 
but  in  order  to  carry  its  work  along  systmatically,  and  to  have 
each  plant  profit  by  what  has  been  done  by  the  other  plants,  a 
committee  on  Safety  Devices,  having  general  charge  of  this 
work,  was  formed  several  years  ago.  This  committee  is  com- 
posed of  a  representative  of  each  of  our  important  works.  Its 
duty  is  to  meet  regularly,  to  investigate  and  to  standardize  the 
best  safety  appliances,  to  consider  other  matters  which  concern 
the  safety  of  employees,  and  to  make  recommendations  to  the 
Manufacturing  Committee.  After  the  recommendations  of  tbr 
General  Committee  are  approved,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  local  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee  to  see  that  the  recommendations  adopted 
are  made  effective  in  the  various  works.  To  date,  over  12,000 
safety  guards  have  been  applied  to  over  8,000  of  the  machine 
tools  by  a  force  of  men  who  are  constantly  employed  making  and 
attaching  these  appliances  and  at  the  present  rate  of  progress, 
the  entire  machine  tool  equipment  will  soon  be  provided  with 
proper  safeguards. 

While  the  introduction  of  safety  appliances  has  greatly 
lessened  the  number  of  accidents,  our  records  show  that  a  large 
proportion  cannot  be  prevented,  even  by  the  most  liberal  expen- 
diture for  such  protective  devices.  These  records  show  that 
only  about  15  per  cent,  of  the  accidents  at  the  Schenectady 
Works  are  caused  through  the  use  of  machinery,  the  remainder 
being  due  to  other  causes  which  safety  appliances  cannot  pre- 
vent. It  is  well  to  mention  this,  because  there  seems  to  be  an 
impression  that  if  machinery  was  properly  provided  with  safety 
appliances  accidents  would  largely  disappear.  At  the  recent 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  93 

Exposition  of  Safety  Appliances,  held  at  the  Grand  Central  Pal- 
ace, New  York  City,  the  General  Electric  Company  had  quite  an 
interesting  exhibit.lt  showed  a  number  of  appliances  actually 
attached  to  machine  tools,  and  a  large  number  of  photographs  of 
other  devices.  Our  space  was  constantly  filled  with  people  who 
were  interested,  and  evidently  the  judges  thought  well  of  the 
exhibit,  because  we  received  the  Rataneau  Gold  Medal  for  the 
best  work  accomplished  along  safety  lines  in  industrial  organi- 
zations. 

Fire-drills  are  held  regularly.  These  drills  are  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Chief  of  our  Fire  Department,  who,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  duty  of  keeping  our  organization  of  firemen  in  good 
shape,  and  thoroughly  inspecting  the  shops,  having  in  mind  fire 
risks,  is  held  responsible  for  the  proper  enforcement  of  these 
fire-drills.  After  the  introduction  of  these  fire-drills,  we  found 
in  departments  where  several  hundred  are  employed  the  entire 
department  could  be  emptied  in  less  than  two  minutes  from  the 
time  the  alarm  was  sounded. 

Emergency  hospitals  for  the  rendering  of  first  aid  are 
maintained  at  all  of  the  works.  Schenectady  provided  the  first 
hospital ;  this  was  in  1906.  At  the  present  time  we  are  employ- 
ing 4  registered  male  nurses  who  are  on  duty  both  day  and  night. 
We  now  have  the  employees  educated  to  the  idea  that  even  a 
mere  scratch  should  have  attention  at  the  hospital  in  order  to 
prevent  infection.  While  we  do  not  have  any  more  accidents 
than  they  do  in  other  shops  of  the  same  magnitude,  yet  the  num- 
ber of  accidents  reported  by  the  hospital,  and  the  subsequent 
dressings  which  are  applied  until  the  scratch  or  wound  is  per- 
fectly healed,  run  up  into  the  thousands  each  year.  Any  acci- 
dent, no  matter  how  minor  it  might  be,  which  is  treated  at  the 
hospital,  is  recorded  as  an  accident.  During  the  year  1913, 
6,300  such  accidents  were  recorded,  and  the  subsequent  dress- 
ings amounted  to  15,000.  This  will  serve  to  give  some  idea  of 
the  work  of  this  particular  emergency  hospital.  In  case  of  more 
serious  accidents,  first  aid  is  rendered  at  the  emergency  hospital, 
and  the  injured  are  then  sent  to  the  city  hospital,  where  they 
have  the  benefit  of  the  best  surgical  skill.  We  have  a  regular 
arrangement  with  one  of  the  leading  surgeons  in  the  city  who 
devotes  his  time  to  such  cases.  This  is  done  without  any  ex- 
pense to  the  individual  and  is  entirely  irrespective  of  any  legal 
liability  involved. 


94  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 


GENERAL  MEETING 

JANUARY  27,  1914,  2  P.  M. 

GOVERNOR  ODDIE  : 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  act  as  pre- 
siding officer  at  this  second  meeting  of  this  Conference.  Unfor- 
tunately, I  was  hung  up  yesterday  by  a  washout  on  the  road 
from  Tonopah  to  Reno,  and  I  missed  the  first  meeting,  for 
which  I  am  sorry.  A  number  of  good  citizens  in  the  State,  rep- 
resentative of  the  various  interests  and  industries,  were  with  me 
on  the  train,  and  we  regretted  that  we  could  not  get  here,  but 
made  up  our  minds  that  we  would  make  up  for  it  to-day,  and  we 
are  anticipating  a  very  pleasant  afternoon.  There  is  much  to 
be  done  this  afternoon.  Many  addresses  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance, so  we  will  have  to  cut  things  short.  I  would  like  to  say 
just  a  few  words  about  this  meeting.  It  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance from  the  standpoint  of  humanity,  of  industrial  economics, 
and  of  industrial  peace  and  good  will  between  employer  and 
employee.  In  this  Conference  are  those  who  represent  the 
State  in  its  attitude  toward  the  question  of  the  conservation  of 
human  health,  life,  and  limb.  Also  we  have  the  representatives 
of  the  railroads,  the  mines,  the  electric  power  lines,  mills  and 
shops.  Also  we  have  representatives  of  labor  organizations — 
those  who  have  the  most  immediate  and  vital  interest  of  all  in 
the  problem  at  issue.  The  laborers  are  those  upon  whom  the 
suffering  and  tragedy  of  industrial  danger  falls.  I  believe  that 
the  awakening  public  conscience,  which  places  first  the  enact- 
ment of  legislation  tending  to  reduce  to  the  least  possible  mini- 
mum the  dangers  of  industrial  life,  is  to-day  receiving  the  most 
practical  encouragement  and  support,  from  both  capital  and  la- 
bor. Whatever  differences  may  exist  in  respect  to  other  indus- 
trial conditions,  here  is  a  common  grounds  of  common  benefit, 
where  we  can  all  meet  as  brothers. 

I  share  with  all  of  you  the  hope  that  a  substantial  improve- 
ment may  be  made  in  the  way  of  the  prevention  of  industrial 
accidents.  I  shall  not  take  any  more  time.  I  just  want  to  state 
that  the  Engineers'  Club  of  the  University  of  Nevada,  and  the 
Nevada  Industrial  Insurance  Commission  are  deserving  of  pub- 
lic appreciation  for  bringing  this  Conference  about.  Also,  the 
State  extends  a  welcome  to  all  of  you  who  have  come  from  the 
outside,  you  who  are  to  deliver  addresses  to  us,  and  you  who  are 
taking  part.  And  we  all  want  you  to  feel  that  Nevada  hospital- 
ity is  yours,  and  we  will  all  help  in  making  your  stay  here  agree- 
able. We  have  one  disappointment.  Our  friend,  Judge  Far- 
rington,  who  presides  over  our  Federal  Court,  is  indisposed. 
Judge  Farrington,  I  know,  personally,  has  been  looking  forward 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  95 

to  taking  part  in  this  meeting  for  some  time,  but,  unfortunately, 
he  is  ill,  and  we  are  very  sorry  that  he  will  not  be  here. 

We  will  now  have  a  formal  paper  on  electric  headlight 
questions  by  Professor  Scrugham  whom  it  is  not  necessary  for 
me  to  introduce.  I  can  say  that  he  is  one  of  the  most  able  and 
scientific  men  we  have,  and  I  don't  care  what  State  that  covers — 
it  can  cover  all  of  the  States — we  are  lucky  to  have  such  a  man 
in  Nevada. 


PROFESSOR  SCRUGHAM: 

After  the  very  pleasant  introduction,  I  feel  constrained  to 
take  at  least  five  or  ten  minutes  in  telling  the  audience  what  an 
excellent  Governor  we  have,  but  since  we  are  pressed  for  time, 
I  will  proceed  to  the  reading  of  the  formal  paper. 


ELECTRIC  HEADLIGHTS 

BY 

J.  G.  SCRUGHAM 

Since  the  safety  of  the  traveling  public  and  of  men  engaged 
in  the  transportation  industry  is  in  a  certain  measure  dependent 
upon  the  use  of  a  proper  headlight  for  cars  or  locomotives,  it 
seems  proper  to  discuss  this  important  subject  at  an  Industrial 
Safety  Conference.  Twenty-eight  states  have  adopted  legisla- 
tion embodying  seventeen  different  specifications  regarding  the 
use  of  headlights  on  locomotives.  The  State  of  Georgia  requires 
a  300  watt  arc  lamp  with  a  23  in.  reflector,  while  in  the  adjacent 
State  of  Mississippi,  an  18  in.  reflector  is  deemed  necessary.  In 
South  Carolina  the  light  must  measure  10,000  candlepower  with 
a  reflector.  Nebraska  requires  a  light  that  is  sufficiently  strong 
to  distinguish  an  object  the  size  of  a  man  at  a  distance  of  600  ft. 
(Whether  the  man  is  to  be  a  white  man  or  a  black  man,  dressed 
in  white  or  black  clothes,  etc.,  is  not  specified.)  In  five  states 
a  similar  law  is  enacted  in  which  the  distance  is  set  at  800  ft. 
In  Iowa  it  is  made  to  specify  discernment  of  a  man  lying  down 
at  a  distance  1100  ft.  Several  states  require  a  light  of  1500 
candlepower  with  the  reflector,  while  Missouri  requires  1500 
candlepower  with  the  reflector.  It  will  be  noted  that  many  of 
the  above  laws  are  of  a  conflicting  character,  especially  as  the 
strongest  practical  headlight  manufactured  at  present  delivers 
less  than  1000  mean  spherical  candlepower  without  a  reflector. 

What  the  traveling  public,  railroad  management,  and  em- 
ployees all  want  is  that  light  which  is  most  conducive  to  the  safe 
operation  of  trains.  The  problem  is  how  to  obtain  it.  The 
efficiency  of  a  headlight  is  primarily  dependent  on  the  reflector 
or  lens  used,  and,  secondarily  on  the  volume  or  power  of  light 
The  reflector  may  multiply  the  horizontal  candlepower  of  the 


96  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

headlight  anywhere  from  unity  to  2000  times  or  more,  depending 
upon  the  condition  of  reflector  and  the  focus  used.  For  example, 
a  500  horizontal  candlepower  arc  with  a  dirty,  ill-focused  reflect- 
or, may  give  only  a  very  few  thousand  candlepower  ahead  on  a 
track,  while  a  well-designed  100  candlepower  incandescent,  with 
a  properly  focused  reflector  is  capable  of  delivering  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  million  candlepower  where  it  is  needed.  To  obtain 
efficient  results  it  is  necessary  for  the  light  source  to  be  well 
concentrated  and  placed  at  what  is  known  as  the  focal  point  of 
the  reflector.  The  complaint  about  poor  headlights  arises  as 
much  from  the  improper  condition  of  the  reflector  and  focusing, 
as  from  the  insufficiency  of  the  light  itself.  There  seems  to  be 
an  almost  unanimous  opinion  that  the  light  reflected  ahead 
should  be  of  sufficient  volume  to  enable  the  engineer  to  discern 
any  serious  obstruction  or  fault  on  the  track  in  time  to  prevent 
or  minimize  the  danger  of  an  accident.  This  means  that  the 
object  must  become  visible  at  a  distance  of  from  500  to  1000  ft. 
under  ordinary  operating  conditions.  Another  requirement  is 
that  the  light  should  not  be  too  strong  and  dazzling  as  to  blind 
observers  or  approaching  enginemen.  A  very  powerful  arc,  es- 
pecially those  rich  in  greenish  rays,  should  be  avoided  because 
of  the  tendency  to  give  a  false  color  to  the  red  danger  signals 
and  the  injury  to  the  eyes  of  those  looking  into  its  field. 

The  light  should  be  uniform,  reliable  and  easily  replaced  or 
repaired  in  case  of  failure.  Our  problem  is  to  determine  which 
light  most  nearly  fulfills  these  conditions.  In  recent  years  the 
unit,  called  the  candlepower,  has  been  practically  abandoned  by 
illumination  engineers  and  lamp  manufacturers  on  account  of 
its  ambiguity.  The  most  definite  and  useful  unit  is  called  the 
foot  candle,  and  is  a  measure  of  the  illumination  on  the  objects 
to  be  made  visible,  instead  of  being  a  measure  of  the  light  source 
itself.  To  those  having  normal  vision,  an  illumination  of  one 
tenth  of  a  candle-foot  thrown  from  a  headlight  on  a  dark  object 
the  size  of  a  man  render  it  distinctly  visible  on  a  dark  object 
at  a  distance  of  a  thousand  feet  or  more  under  ordinary  condi- 
tions. A  man  wearing  white  clothes  can  be  discerned  at  twice 
this  distance.  If  he  wears  some  glittering  jewelry,  as  in  one 
case  which  came  under  my  observation,  he  can  be  spotted  more 
than  half  a  mile  away.  However,  all  trials  should  be  based  on 
discernment  of  dark  objects,  as  the  average  trespasser  on  the 
right  of  way  is  rarely  so  accommodating  as  to  display  his  jewelry 
to  the  engineer  on  the  approaching  train. 

Illumination  such  as  I  have  just  described  can  readily  be 
obtained  from  a  concentrated  filament  lamp  of  100  spherical 
candlepower  if  a  well  silvered  parabolic  reflector  is  used.  In  my 
opinion  any  stronger  illumination  is  a  waste  of  light.  In  foggy 
weather  or  when  the  air  is  filled  with  snow  flakes,  the  lower  can- 
dlepower light  again  has  the  advantage  as  the  rays  are  more 
penetrating  than  those  of  the  higher  candlepower  light.  These 
latter  are  reflected  back  toward  the  observer.  It  is  only  within 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  97 

the  past  few  months  that  a  satisfactory  incandescent  lamp  has 
been  developed  for  headlight  purposes.  The  old  carbon  fila- 
ment lamp  and  the  earlier  forms  of  tungsten  lamp  were  of 
such  nature  that  the  light  source  could  not  be  sufficiently  concen- 
trated to  give  good  results  with  a  parabolic  reflector.  However, 
the  development  of  the  wire  drawn  helix  filament  tungsten  lamp 
surrounded  by  nitrogen  gas  seems  to  have  solved  the  problem. 
When  a  lamp  is  so  constructed  that  pactically  all  of  the  light 
source  can  be  placed  at  the  focal  point,  the  illuminating  effi- 
ciency is  vastly  higher  that  when  the  light  covers  a  large  area. 
For  this  reason  a  low  candlepower  lamp  can  frequently  reflect 
a  better  light  on  the  track  than  a  large  arc.  The  big  headlight 
manufacturing  concerns,  such  as  the  Pyle,  Remy,  and  others, 
who  formerly  specialized  in  arcs  are  now  building  turbo-gen- 
erator sets  to  accommodate  the  rapidly  increasing  demand  for 
the  incandescent  light.  The  advantages  of  giving  no  fumes  to 
blacken  or  tarnish  a  reflector  and  requiring  no  elaborate  mech- 
anism for  adjustment  is  obvious  to  all.  I  hold  no  brief  for  any 
particular  make  or  type  of  generating  apparatus.  The  point 
that  I  do  wish  to  make  is  that  a  five  hundred  or  a  five  thousand 
candlepower  light  is  of  very  little  use  in  preserving  the  lives  of 
the  traveling  public  unless  it  is  properly  reflected  and  directed 
to  where  it  is  needed.  Another  thing  worthy  of  consideration 
is  the  location  of  the  light  on  the  front  of  the  engine. 

For  many  reasons  it  would  be  a  marked  advantage  to  have 
the  headlight  located  lower  down  on  the  front  of  the  boiler  than 
is  the  present  practice.  I  was  formerly  a  very  strong  advocate 
of  such  a  change,  but  after  observing  the  ultra-coarse  methods 
used  by  an  Austrian  helper  in  opening  up  a  smoke  box  door  with 
a  sledge  hammer,  the  desirability  of  the  present  headlight  loca- 
tion became  obvious. 

Reverting  to  the  subject  of  headlight  legislation  again. 
While  the  startling  originality  of  the  ideas  of  some  of  the  bill 
f  ramers  might  be  deemed  commendable,  yet  the  question  is  obvi- 
ously one  that  should  receive  the  attention  of  some  competent 
Federal  Commission  empowered  to  make  recommendations  to 
Congress.  Such  a  commission  should  consist  of  a  number  of 
locomotive  engineers  and  other  qualified  experts  who  would 
determine  what  degree  of  illumination  on  an  object  expressed 
in  foot  candles  is  required  for  the  engineer  with  normal  vision 
to  sight  a  man  in  dark  clothes  at  various  specified  distances.  All 
legislation  should  be  based  on  such  accurate  and  reliable  infor- 
mation instead  of  in  haphazard  manner  as  at  present. 

RECORD  OF  TESTS 

In  these  tests  the  persons  on  the  track  were  dressed  in  dark 
clothes.  The  column  headed  "as  an  obstacle"  shows  distance 
persons  were  visible  as  an  obstruction  of  some  kind  on  the  track. 
The  column  headed  "counted"  shows  distance  when  the  number 
of  persons  on  the  track  could  be  counted  from  the  cab  or  dis^ 
cerned  as  a  person, 


98 


UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 


Acetylene  Standing  Test. 


11       * 
*$     J 

£ 

*v 

1 

p 

1 

7-26-11 
n 

tt 
10-25-10 

1     799 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
Average  799 
4     742 

524 

734 
681 
563 
642 

tt 

4     768 
4     787 
1     831 
1     697 
Average  765 

9-2-10 

5     449 

n 

5     481 
1     441 
Average  457 

9-2-10 

6     513 

99 

6     597 
1     469 
Average  526 

9-2-10 

4     637 

n 

4     645 
4     725 
4     705 
Average  692 

Remarks. 


9-2-10 


10-25-10 


637 


661 


4  773 

4  773 

Average  736 


4  601 

4  653 

Average  627 


Commercial   Acetlyene   Co. 
gas  and  reflector 


Commercial  Acetylene  Co. 
gas  and  reflector 


Commercial  Acetylene  re- 
flector and  S.  P.  gener- 
ator 


Commercial  Acetylene  re- 
flector and  S.  P.  genera- 
ator 


Commercial   Acetylene   Co. 
reflector  and   S.  P.  gener- 
ator 

Commercial  Acetylene  Co. 
gas  and  S.  P.  Co.  re- 
flector. 


Acetylene  Running  Test. 


Commercial   Acetylene   Co. 
6-in.  reflector 

Commercial   Acetylene   Co. 
6-in.  reflector 


Q 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  99 

Electric  Incandescent,  Standing  Tests. 

8  * 

*o  .§          w  j§  Remarks. 

Is  I 


7-8-12  2  1057  Mazda  Light  from  General 

Electric   Co. 

1  1030  Mazda  Light  from  General 

Electric   Co. 

1  1030  Mazda  Light  from  General 

Electric   Co. 

2  960  Mazda  Light  from  General 

Electric   Co. 

3  960  Mazda  Light  from  General 

Electric   Co. 
3  960  Mazda  Light  from  General 

Electric   Co. 
9-11-12         2  674  Westinghouse  zigzag  Cila- 

ment. 
2  674  Westinghouse  zigzag  fila- 

ment. 

2  674  Westinghouse  zigzag  fila- 

ment. 

1  590  Westinghouse  zigzag  fila- 

ment. 

2  640  Westinghouse  zigzag  fila- 

ment. 

9-11-12  780  Westinghouse        U-shaped 

filament. 

3  705  Westinghouse        U-shaped 

filament. 

1  690  Westinghouse        U-shaped 

filament. 

Running  Tests. 

7-8-12         2  990  Mazda  Light  from  General 

Electric  Company 
1  852  Mazda  Light  from  General 

Electric  Company 
9-11-12         3  621  Westinghouse  zigzag  fila- 

ment. 
780  Westinghouse  zigzag  fila- 

ment. 
1  690  Westinghouse  zigzag  fila- 

ment. 

3  705  Westinghouse  zigzag  fila- 

ment. 


100  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Electric  Arc,  Standing  Test. 

pj       to      £ 

0)        £       Swd'TJ 

S1I  Sll 

*o£,g  ^*g  Distanc,  ft. 

o     dc°  6gU  Remarks. 

^    &  °  g  £  No.  1    No.  2 

8-2-12       1  1067  1217        No.  1  Lacy  Light 

1  1109  1137        No.  2  Pyle  Light. 

99         1  1148  1073 

Average  1108  1142 

8-2-12       1  1608  1617 

1  1568  1561 

1  1601 

Average  1588  1593 

Remarks. 

8-2-11  1         1420  Lacy  headlight. 

Average         1146  Lacy  headlight. 

1  871  Lacy  headlight. 
8-2-11                 1         1041  Pyle   headlight. 

2  1109  Pyle   headlight. 
Average         1105 

The  last  two  tests  are  electric  arc  running  tests. 

Summary.  Feet. 

Acetylene   standing   test 653 

Acetylene    running    test 621 

Acetylene,   all   tests 650 

Electric  arc  standing  test 1281 

Electric  arc  running  test 1125 

Electric  incandescent,  General  Electric  Co.,  standing  test 10000 

Electric  incandescent,  General  Electric  Co.,  running  test 921 

Electric  Incandescent,  Westinghouse  zigzag  filament,  standing  test 650 

Electric  incandescent,  Westinghouse  zigzag  filament,  running  test 621 

Electric  incandescent,  Westinghouse  U-shaped  filament,  standing  test..  725 

Electric  incandescent,  Westinghouse  U-shaped  filament,  runnin  gtest....  725 

In  test  of  Westinghouse  incandescent  the  zigzag  filament  light  tested 

had  been  in  service  55  hours  of  light;  the  U-shaped  filament  tried  was  new. 

Relative  to  oil  light,  we  have  no  tests  made  under  the  same 
conditions  as  above. 

A  test  made  at  Benali  in  1907  noting  the  distance  another 
engine  (without  lights)  could  be  seen  gave  the  relative  distances 
for  oil  and  acetylene  as  1  to  2.18. 

On  this  basis  one  or  more  people  would  be  visible  on  the 
track  with  an  oil  light  at  a  distance  of  300  feet. 

General  comparison  as  follows  using  the  standing  test  and 
in  the  incandescent  light  the  higher  candlepower,  General  Elec- 
tric only: 

Relative 
Feet.          distance. 

Oil  light  300  1.00 

Acetylene    .„,„ 653  2.18 

Electric    incandescent 1000  3.33 

Electric  arc  ,„„„,„„.,„„. J2SI  4.2 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  EXILIAN,  101 

TEST  ON  ENGINE  3017— AUG.  8,  1913 

This  lamp  is  a  General  Electric  Incandescent  Tungsten  hav- 
ing nitrogen  in  bulb.  It  is  operated  by  Exide  Storage  batteries 
made  by  Electric  Storage  Battery  Company,  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Batteries  arranged  2  sets  in  multiple  4  batteries  in  series  in 
each  set,  a  rheostat  is  used  and  the  circuit  shows  8  volts  and  12 
amperes,  6  volts  across  the  lamp  which  consumes  72  watts  and  is 
rated  at  about  100  candlepower. 

Test  was  made  of  light  on  Sacramento  Southern  on  morning 
of  August  7th,  between  hours  of  1  and  3 :30  a.  m.  Night  clear 
and  dark ;  moon  absent ;  men  on  track  dressed  in  dark  clothes. 

Globe  tested  had  been  in  service  approximately  5  hours, 
light  being  applied  at  Oakland  August  6th  for  run  Oakland  to 
Sacramento,  train  No.  16. 

Result  of  distance  tests  as  follows : 

Men  on  Track  Discerned  as  Object  or  Obstruction  of  Some  Kind. 

No.  of  test  No.  of  men  on  track  Distanc,  ft. 

1  3  1099 

2  3  933 

3  3  1079 

Average  1057 
No.  of  men  on  track  counted. 

1  2  857 

2  2  751 

3  1  917 

Average  842 

Running  Test— Engineer  and  Fireman   Only  Taking  Part — Distance  Men 
on  Track  Discovered  as  an  Object  or  Obstruction  of  Some  Kind. 

1  3  791 

2  2  766 

3  2  1038 

Average  865 

PYLE  NATIONAL  INCANDESCENT  HEADLIGHT — NOVEMBER  15,  1913 

This  generator  (Type  "S"  Tubor-Generator  Unit)  has  been 
installed  for  trial  on  engine  No.  2328,  furnishing  current  for  a 
20  watt  32  volt  Westinghouse  Mazda  incandescent  headlight 
lamp. 

Roundhouse  Test  of  Type  "S"  Generator. 


<U  -4->                                                K._         CO  0)      • 

I  •&                foe  x_s      *fi 

g  *      IS. -1,,  ..1*1  i-r 

-a      I  II      I 


H  W  K  >  W<5  l>  <1  <1  02  W 

1  198  3642  30.7  3V8  96.     5        225  106  416 

2  198  3578  30.5  3  91.5    None     91.5  90  984 

3  198  3727  29  00  00  None     00  74 

4  198  3549  29.5  3  88.5    4—1     328.  118  363 


102  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

In  test  No.  4  one  of  the  Westinghouse  headlight  lamps  was 
put  in  place  of  one  of  the  Marker  lights  in  order  to  note  opera- 
tion of  generator  with  a  little  overload. 

Steam  used  per  hour  by  type  "S"  in  operating  headlight 
alone  in  comparison  with  type  "C"  which  is  most  in  use  and  with 
the  later  compound  wound  type  "E"  as  follows : 
Steam  Ib.  used  per  hour. 

Type    "S"  90  tb  Test  above. 

Type    "E"  215  Ib.  Test  by  Pyle  Co. 

Type    "C" 421  tb.  Test  report  of  Dec.  16,  1912 

The  type  "S"  turbor-generator  is  a  small  compact  unit,  its 
weight  compared  with  types  "E"  and  "C"  as  follows:  Type 
"S,"  125  Ib. ;  type  "E,"  290  Ib. ;  type  "C,"  350  Ib. 

Distance  test  of  the  120  watt  32  volt  incandescent  used  in 
above  test  was  reported  September  30,  1913,  as  follows:  Three 
men  on  track  observed  an  obstruction  of  some  kind,  1149  ft.; 
1  to  3  men  on  track  counted  from  cab,  854  ft.  Running  test,  ap- 
proximately 30  m.p.h.,  3  men  on  track  observed  as  obstruction 
of  some  kind  976  ft. 

RESULTS  OF  ELECTRIC  HEADLIGHT  TESTS — JAN.  27,  1914 

Sacramento  Division  S.  P.  Co.  near  Reno,  showing  distance 
at  which  obstructions  on  track  could  be  discerned  with  respec- 
tive headlights: 
No.  Character  of  Test  Arc  Lamp      Nitrogen  Lamp 

1  Standing  1160  ft.  1900  ft. 

2  Running  674  ft.  1508  ft. 

3  Running  860  ft.  1606  ft. 
The  mean  spherical  candlepower  of  the  arc  lamp  used  in 

above  test  was  approximately  840,  and  the  mean  sperical  candle- 
power  of  the  nitrogen  incandescent  was  approximately  120.  The 
reflector  used  on  the  arc  lamp  was  somewhat  tarnished,  due  to 
several  conditions.  The  reflector  for  the  incandescent  lamp 
was  in  first-class  condition. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

I  want  to  thank  Professor  Scrugham  for  the  very  able  paper 
he  has  read,  and  hope  we  will  have  a  full  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tion. There  are  always  two  sides  to  a  question,  sometimes  more, 
and  we  want  to  have  the  matter  brought  out  so  as  to  get 
everything  before  us.  The  next  speaker  will  be  Mr.  Howard 
Stillman,  Chief  Mechanical  Engineer  of  the  Southern  Pacific. 


MR.  STILLMAN: 

I  have  listened  to  the  address  with  a  great  deal  of  interest. 
While  I  have  provided  no  paper  on  the  subject,  I  think  there  are 
some  points  brought  out  by  the  discussion  that  really  demand 
our  further  attention.  Reference  was  made  to  the  requirements 
in  "candle  power".  "Candle  power"  of  a  light  is  really  too 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  103 

technical  a  term.  It  was  derived  from  our  grandfathers,  and  is 
based  on  the  consumption  of  120  grains  of  a  standard  wax  candle 
in  an  hour.  It  is  an  expression  involving  only  the  quantity  of 
power  required  to  produce  light,  in  comparison  with  other 
sources  of  light,  and  in  the  case  of  the  electric  light,  or  an  arc 
light  for  instance,  we  have  determined  that  one  candle  power  in 
wattage  is  equivalent  to  IVa  watts.  With  an  arc  light,  it  is  al- 
most impossible  to  standardize  it,  but  we  divide  the  total  voltage 
by  1  Va  to  get  the  candle  power  and  then  we  have  got  back  to  our 
grandfathers'  candle  again.  There  should  be  a  more  definite 
understanding  as  to  what  is  meant  by  the  units  of  light.  The 
proper  unit  of  light  is  the  foot-candle.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  the 
light  that  one  candle  will  produce  on  one  square  foot,  one  foot 
away.  That  again,  referred  to  in  a  practical  way,  means  an 
object  that  we  can  distinguish  at  a  certain  distance,  with  light 
enough  to  know  what  it  is.  The  term  candle  power  makes  no 
reference  to  the  condition  or  kind  of  reflector,  and  that  is  one 
objection  we  have  to  the  use  of  the  arc  light,  because  the  reflect- 
or becomes  more  or  less  spotted  by  the  sputtering  of  the  arc, 
and  if  we  go  back  to  the  time  of  the  oil  light,  we  get  to  the  break- 
ing of  the  chimneys  and  the  smoking  up  of  the  reflector.  You 
still  have  your  light  energy,  but  you  have  no  light,  because  your 
reflector  is  so  spotted  that  it  seriously  interferes  with  the  head- 
light efficiency.  The  so-called  flame  of  the  arc  light  is  respon- 
sible for  this  trouble,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  gas  light.  Any- 
thing that  smudges  up  the  reflector  seriously  impairs  the  effect 
of  the  light,  and  we  really  ought  to  drop  this  term  candle  power. 
For  instance,  if  we  have  got  the  candle  power,  we  might 
drop  the  curtain  over  it,  and  we  still  have  the  candle  power, 
though  we  might  not  have  the  light  at  all.  The  nitrogen  form 
of  the  incandescent  light,  from  our  recent  determinations,  we 
have  found  to  be  the  best  yet  struck.  It  is  yet  a  matter  of  ex- 
periment. We  are  experimenting  all  the  time  with  something, 
and  the  incandescent  light  is  the  best  thing  we  have,  so  far.  It 
is  steady,  and  has  not  the  spluttering  of  the  arc  light.  The 
light  can  be  readily  renewed  in  case  of  failure.  There  is  an- 
other point  that  occurs  to  me  in  connection  with  the  investiga- 
tion of  this  entire  subject — that  of  course  the  engineer  of  the 
train  wants  the  best  light  he  can  get,  but  there  are  others  besides 
the  engineer.  People  on  the  track  are  generally  more  concerned 
than  the  engineer.  In  case  of  accidents,  they  suffer  far  more 
than  the  engineer,  and  any  light  that  dazzles  them  is  more  or 
less  dangerous  to  them.  I  remember  one  of  the  first  arc  lights 
on  a  locomotive  coming  out  of  the  Sacramento  depot.  A  woman 
started  to  cross  the  track,  got  in  the  middle  of  the  track,  and 
stayed  there.  We  got  her  off,  all  right,  but  she  said  she  could  not 
tell  where  the  light  was,  and  did  not  know  which  way  to  run. 
Of  course  the  engineer  saw  her,  but  she  could  not  see  the  engin- 
eer and  she  would  have  suffered  more  than  the  engineer  in  case 
of  accident. 


104  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

On  one  thing  I  do  not  quite  agree  with  the  Professor,  in  his 
reference  to  the  position  of  the  headlight,  advocating  lowering 
it.  I  have  seen  it  experimented  with  a  good  deal,  and  many  of 
the  railroads  of  the  East  have  put  it  in  the  center  of  the  boiler. 
In  some  ways  it  brings  the  light  down,  but  consider  that  it  only 
brings  it  about  two  feet  down,  and  the  same  effect  is  produced 
by  tilting  the  lamp  forward. 

With  reference  to  the  different  State  Laws,  that  is  what 
concerns  the  interests  I  represent  more  than  anything  else.  We 
want  to  know  where  we  are.  We  have  a  different  law  in  each 
State.  Up  in  the  mountains  last  night  I  thought  of  a  point; 
in  crossing  the  line  if  the  engineer  had  been  compelled  to  get 
out  and  change  the  headlight  at  the  State  line,  I  thought  what 
the  difficulties  would  have  been.  Running  from  Oregon  into 
Arizona,  through  California,  we  would  have  to  change  head- 
lights in  every  State  we  ran  into,  and  we  earnestly  look  for 
Federal  legislation  that  will  standardize  this  matter,  and  bring 
it  to  a  point  where  we  will  know  just  where  we  are. 

GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

I  want  to  thank  Mr.  Stillman  for  his  practical  remarks  and 
suggestions,  and  would  like  now  to  have  a  discussion  from  Mr. 
A.  H.  Babcock,  Chief  Electrical  Engineer  of  the  Southern 
Pacific.  Company. 


MR.  BABCOCK: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen:  I  approach  this  subject, 
not  from  the  standpoint  of  the  technical  man,  or  the  investi- 
gator in  the  laboratory,  but  from  the  standpoint  of  the  man 
who  must  make  for  the  Corporation  the  headlight  that  the 
Commissions  would  like  to  have,  and  the  executives  of  the  Com- 
pany would  like  to  have,  and  the  organizations  would  like  to 
have,  one  that  puts  us  on  a  basis  where  we  would  like  to  know 
where  we  are,  as  Mr.  Stillman  says,  before  we  start.  I  wish 
to  bring  to  your  attention  the  essential  facts  of  a  headlight  sys- 
tem as  seen  by  the  engineer,  and  ask  you  to  carry  in  your  minds 
through  the  discussion  this  afternoon,  these  few  essentials: 

First  and  foremost  is  a  certain  illumination  of  the  object. 
To  be  produced  how?  By  a  headlight.  Within  the  headlight 
two  essential  features  are  the  source  of  light  and  the  reflecting 
surface  that  gathers  the  light  and  projects  in  a  for- 
ward direction  where  it  is  most  desired.  The  last,  and  least 
important  feature,  as  far  as  anyone  but  the  designing  engineer 
is  concerned,  is  the  source  of  the  light.  These  essentials  please 
carry  in  your  minds,  because  I  am  confident  there  will  be  a  large 
amount  of  talk,  more  or  less  irrelevant,  if  these  things  are  not 
carried  particularly  in  mind. 

For  example,  after  the  certain  degree  of  illumination  has 
been  agreed  upon  as  necessary — and  that  the  electric  lamp  is 
required — then  the  engineer  will  be  asked  to  design  or  procure 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  105 

a  lamp  and  a  reflector  and  the  source  of  energy.  I  think  that 
at  the  present  time,  we  can  state  that  the  kind  of  lamp  is  nar- 
rowed down  to  two,  the  arc  lamp  and  the  incandescent  lamp. 
The  arc  lamp  has  many  advantages,  and  many  disadvantages, 
and  I  think  the  greatest  disadvantage  of  the  arc  lamp  is  its  too 
powerful  beam,  and  the  direction.  That  direction  is  not  con- 
stant. Please  carry  that  in  your  mind.  The  travel  of  the  arc 
around  the  surface  of  the  carbon  makes  it  impossible  to  hold 
the  arc  in  the  focus  of  the  mirror.  Where  your  mirror  is  con- 
structed with  the  accuracy  that  is  now  possible,  the  variation 
of  1-16  of  an  inch  of  the  arc  may  result  in  throwing  your  beam 
wide  of  the  track.  You  have  all  seen  street  cars  with  a  power- 
ful beam  projecting  outwards,  and  if  you  watch  it,  you  will  see 
it  is  first  in  one  place,  and  then  in  another.  That  is  caused  by 
the  travel  of  the  arc.  It  has  also  the  disadvantage  of  clouding 
the  reflector.  What  does  it  matter  if  a  test  can  show  you  can 
pick  up  a  man  with  a  powerful  light  at  1200  feet  if  the  beam 
is  not  on  him  when  the  man  is  on  the  track?  You  gentlemen 
that  run  behind  the  headlights  must  decide  whether  it  is  better 
to  have  a  reasonably  intense  beam  that  will  always  and  invari- 
ably pick  up  that  a  man  at  a  distance  within  whicn  you  can  stop 
— say  800  or  1000  feet,  or  whether  it  is  better  to  have  a  more 
powerful  light  that  may  not  be  on  the  track.  The  incandescent 
has  the  very  great  advantage  of  being  constant,  and  can  be  fixed 
very  accurately.  It  will  produce  a  soft  beam  with  more  pene- 
trating powers.  And  these  things  are  matters  of  practical 
experience  in  the  field.  Determine  first  what  is  wanted  and 
then  let  the  engineer  do  his  best. 

Now,  how  can  he  exert  his  best  efforts?  He  may  take  ad- 
vantage, first,  of  the  storage  battery — one  that  will  keep  its 
charge  strong  enough  to  produce  the  light  throughout  the  entire 
run,  with  enough  capacity  left  in  it  to  spare,  to  cover  such  inci- 
dents as  we  have  experienced  within  the  last  24  hours. 

Now,  observe,  please,  that  the  quantity  of  electricity  in  the 
battery  is  what  determines  the  actual  illumination  of  the  head- 
light until  a  new  recharged  battery  is  put  in,  and  please  note 
also,  that  by  making  the  storage  battery  large  enough,  you  can 
make  the  light  burn  as  long  as  you  please.  Objections  have 
been  made  that  the  storage  battery  cannot  be  made  to  carry  a 
light  long  enough  for  practical  purposes. 

Apart  from  the  battery,  we  have  only  one  source  of  light, 
a  generator  or  dynamo,  as  it  is  called.  That  dynamo  must  be 
driven  by  some  mechanical  power.  There  is  the  choice  of  the 
turbine.  That  can  be  obtained  from  a  number  of  manufactur- 
ers. The  Westinghouse  Electrical  and  Manufacturing  Company 
is  very  actively  pushing  its  turbine  generator,  and  the  Pyle 
people  have  for  many  years  built  one.  Now,  for  a  few  years, 
at  least,  the  automobile  has  been  lighted  by  electricity,  and  com- 
monly by  a  little  power  driven  generator  connected  with  the 
generator.  For  many  years  we  have  lighted  our  Pullman 


106  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

trains  by  axle  driven  generators.  It  occurred  to  me,  why  not 
make  a  combination  of  the  two,  to  see  if  it  is  not  possible  to  de- 
sign a  generator  properly  designed  for  the  variable  speeds  of 
a  locomotive.  That  will  give  us  adequate  electricity  to  drive  a 
headlight,  either  arc  or  incandescent.  I  fail  to  see  any  essen- 
tial difference  between  the  automobile  driving  its  headlights  at 
speeds  of  from  5  to  50  miles  an  hour,  and  the  locomotive  on  the 
track.  To  me,  the  problem  is  identical.  When  that  problem 
was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  automobile  manufacturers 
it  was  at  once  pounced  upon  by  them  as  a  new  field  for  their 
efforts.  And  while  a  generator  of  suitable  size  for  locomotive 
purposes  is  larger  than  that  required  for  an  automobile,  the 
problem  is  different  in  degree  only,  and  not  in  kind.  There- 
fore, we  have  at  our  disposal,  as  engineers,  a  proved  source 
whereby  electricity  can  be  delivered  to  any  kind  of  a  headlight 
that  may  be  considered  as  necessary,  either  arc  or  incandes- 
cent. I  will  ask  you  again  in  the  following  discussion,  to  carry 
these  main  essentials  in  mind. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

On  the  part  of  the  Conference,  I  thank  Mr.  Babcock.  Now, 
we  have  had  several  discussions  on  this  headlight  subject  from 
men  who  are  engaged  in  the  mechanical  end  of  making  head- 
lights. We  have  a  number  of  men  here  who  have  to  use  the 
headlights — the  engineer  and  firemen.  Their  lives  and  the 
lives  of  the  public  are  in  their  hands,  and  we  are  very  fortun- 
ate in  being  able  this  afternoon  to  have  a  discussion  from  those 
men,  and  to  have  their  views.  The  first  one  I  will  call  upon  is 
Mr.  Frank  Ingram,  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Fire- 
men. 


MR.  INGRAM: 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  wish  to  thank 
Professor  Scrugham  for  his  very  splendid  paper  on  this  subject, 
which  has  given  me  a  good  many  ideas.  I  am  not  familiar  with 
any  method  of  measuring  electricity,  and  as  there  has  been  a 
number  of  methods  suggested,  there  might  be  some  question  as 
to  just  what  is  the  proper  method.  Someone  suggested  the 
candle-foot  for  a  measurement.  That  may  be  supplanted  in  the 
future  by  some  better  method.  However,  we  use  the  popular 
terms,  and  we  will  use  the  candle  power  measurement  till  some- 
thing better  is  suggested. 

Mr.  Stillman  has  suggested  that  the  reflector  has  a  big 
effect  in  the  illumination  of  the  track.  That  is  true.  But  we 
think  if  a  larger  candle  power  is  supplied  at  the  source,  we  will 
have  the  illumination  whether  there  is  a  reflector  there  or  not. 
That  is  the  object  of  this  large  1500  candle  power  headlight  law. 
We  know  that  the  men  who  have  charge  of  the  maintenance  of 
these  headlights,  don't  always  perform  their  duty  as  they  might. 
The  new  light— the  nitrogen  light— may  be  all  right.  It  has  a 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  107 

good  many  features  which  are  an  advantage  over  the  arc;  one 
advantage  is  that  it  does  not  tarnish  the  reflector.     But  this  is 
only  an  experiment,  and,  as  practical  men,  we  prefer  to  stay 
with  the  arc,  which  we  know  gives  us  results.     However,  if  any 
light  is  proved  to  take  the  place  of  the  arc  light,  we  are  satis- 
fied.    What  we  are  after  is  the  illumination.     In  regard  to  Mr. 
Stillman's  suggestion,  that  owing  to  the  brilliancy  of  the  are 
light  people  are  liable  to  become  confused,  we  suggest  that  these 
people  are,  as  a  general  rule,  trespassers,  and  in  fact,  safety  first 
would  force  the  engineers  to  stop,  as  it  is  the  general  rule  of 
engineers  to  stop  if  there  is  any  question.     They  don't  ride  right 
over  them.     We  are  not  in  the  practice  of  riding  over  anybody. 
We  always  stop.     The  reason  for  the  1500  candle  power  pro- 
vision of  the  present  law,  is  that  it  is  standard  in  eleven  states, 
and  the  policy  of  this  organization  on  this  subject  has  been  to 
promote  standard  legislation  on  the  subject  of  headlights.     In 
the  last  convention  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Firemen  and  Engine- 
men,  they  adopted  a  resolution  instructing  their  National  Legis- 
lation representative  to  present  to  Congress  a  suitable  bill  call- 
ing for  the  1500  candle  power  light.     That  is  the  policy  of  this 
organization  and  along  that  same  line,  in  our  State  laws  we  have 
always  requested  1500  candle  power  laws.     When  there  has  been 
any  other  provision  of  this  nature,  we  are  not  responsible  for  it. 
We  have  always  asked  for  the  standard  light,  1500  candle  power. 
And  if  anything  less  than  1500  has  been  accepted,  it  is  not  the 
fault  of  any  of  the  organizations.     It  has  been  a  compromise — 
not  what  we  requested.     One  gentleman  suggested  that  the  arc 
light  beam  is  liable  to  shoot  in  almost  any  direction.     Our  ex- 
perience has  shown  us  that  while  there  may  be  some  tendency 
for  this  beam  to  shoot  to  the  side,  there  has  never  been  a  time 
when  the  beam  was  not  somewhere  near  the  center  of  the  track. 
It  does  not  shoot  off,  leaving  the  track  perfectly  bare.     That  is 
not  our  experience,  and  I  think  probably  our  tests  this  after- 
noon or  evening  will  show  this.     We  know  nothing  of  battery 
or  other  methods  of  creating  current,  and  I  might  add  we  have 
no  objection  to  the  battery  if  it  will  supply  a  steady  source  of 
electricity.     That   is   all   we  want.     We  want  the   light.     We 
don't  care  how  we  get  it.     We  want  better  illumination.     We 
suggest,  however,  that  if  they  are  anything  like  generators  they 
are  liable  to  weaken,  and  if  not  given  careful  attention,  it  will 
be  something  as  with  a  generator — you  won't  have  power. 

In  closing,  I  want  to  thank  the  members  of  the  Engineers' 
Club  and  Professor  Scrugham  for  the  opportunity  to  present  our 
views  on  this  question. 

GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

I  wish  to  thank  Mr.  Ingram  for  his  practical  remarks  on 
the  question,  and  will  call  now  on  Mr.  R.  Harlan,  a  locomotive 
engineer  from  the  Sacramento  Division  of  the  Southern  Pacific. 


108  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

MR.  HARLAN: 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  My  abilities  as  a 
speaker  are  not  very  great.  As  regards  headlights,  speaking 
for  the  men  that  run  behind  them,  as  far  as  electric  headlight  is 
concerned  in  its  present  state,  I  don't  think  that  the  arc  is  just 
exactly  what  everybody  wants.  I  think  that  there  are  two 
things  that  should  be  taken  into  consideration  in  handling  the 
subject  of  headlights  and  these  explain  the  backwardness  of  the 
railroad  people  in  adopting  them.  One  is  the  question  of  the 
different  laws- that  govern  in  different  states.  The  other  is  the 
relationship  between  braking  power  and  speed.  The  electric 
headlight,  for  the  man  that  rides  behind  it,  is  a  fine  thing.  But 
when  he  is  coming  toward  it — well,  I  don't  think  the  arc  is  just 
exactly  what  we  want.  If  the  nitrogen  light  is  any  better,  then 
it  ought  to  be  adopted.  The  man  that  rides  up  against  the  elec- 
tric headlight  is,  practically  speaking,  up  against  it.  Any  man 
who  has  run  or  fired  on  an  engine  knows  that.  There  is  no 
question  of  its  reliability,  and  it  will  show  up  objects.  Take 
the  engine  equipped  with  electric  headlights,  and  as  far  as  rid- 
ing behind  it  is  concerned,  it  is  fine,  but  a  man  riding  toward  it 
up  against  it.  He  cannot  see  well  for  half  an  hour  after  it  has 
gone  by.  With  the  electric  headlight,  you  can  distinguish 
some  colors,  and  some  you  can't.  As  far  as  the  1500  candle 
power  is  concerned,  it  is  rather  high. 

Of  course,  legislation  is  not  to  be  slackened,  as  far  as  that 
is  concerned.  I  think  what  is  holding  the  railroad  people  back 
in  obtaining  arc  headlights  is  that  it  is  too  strong.  The  advance 
in  headlight  construction  has  been  so  rapid  they  are  simply 
waiting  to  get  the  best  there  is  out  as  the  arc  leaves  something 
to  be  desired. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

I  wish  to  thank  Mr.  Harlan  for  his  remarks,  and  will  now 
call  on  Mr.  R.  B.  Stout,  District  Foreman  for  the  Southern 
Pacific. 


MR.  STOUT: 

I  feel  very  proud  in  addressing  this  audience  in  behalf  of 
the  Safety  First  interests.  I  didn't  figure  on  making  any  kind 
of  a  talk  before  this  audience,  so  I  am  not  going  to  be  able  to  say 
very  much.  A  great  many  of  the  men  here  I  am  acquainted 
with,  and  I  want  to  speak  from  the  practical  side  of  the  Safety 
First  Movement.  A  headlight  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
Safety  First  Movement.  I  feel  proud  to  represent  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  in  the  interests  of  the  Safety  First  Movement, 
because  they  have  been  awarded  the  Harriman  gold  medal  for 
1913  for  the  finest  work  of  any  road  in  the  United  States.  Their 
booth,  here,  is  a  reproduction  of  the  booth  that  was  in  New 
York  City — it  was  prepared  there  when  the  Southern  Pacific  was 
awarded  the  gold  medal. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  109 

I  have  been  associated  with  the  electric  headlight  problem 
since  it  has  been  perfected  enough  to  be  in  service  on  the  roads, 
and  the  arc  light  has  been  the  only  light  that  has  been  practic- 
able for  the  railroad  purposes.  The  incandescent  light  is 
something  the  future  must  decide.  I  will  try  and  describe  some 
of  the  features  of  the  maintenance  of  the  electric  headlight. 
We  often  times  hear  curses  for  the  poor  headlight.  While  the 
arc  is  practicable,  a  good  arc,  yet  the  rays  of  the  arc  are  not 
gathered  in  the  reflector.  I  knew  Mr.  Johnson,  Vice-President 
of  the  Pyle  Electric  Headlight  Company,  when  he  was  running 
an  engine.  We  attended  some  lectures  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  de- 
scribing the  operation  of  this  headlight  so  as  to  make  it  a  suc- 
cess. We  put  on  eight,  then  put  on  one  hundred,  and  then  put 
on  eight  hundred.  Everyone  took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in 
the  lights  and  there  was  a  great  reduction  in  accidents.  The 
electric  headlight  is  so  far  superior  to  the  old  oil  and  carbide 
lights,  in  the  way  of  preventing  accidents,  that  there  is  no  com- 
parison. This  applies  more  to  the  men  that  are  operating 
them  than  to  the  people  or  the  traveling  public.  On  this  road 
there  were  many  accidents  due  to  oil  and  carbide  headlights. 
Men  were  operating  them  and  not  understanding  them. 

I  wish  to  call  attention  to  legislation.  I  approve  of  legisla- 
lation,  but  legislation  does  not  prevent  the  accidents.  It  is 
only  for  the  company  to  get  at  the  individual  men  who  operate 
headlights  or  anything  else,  to  make  them  protect  themselves. 
It  does  not  seem  reasonable  that  you  should  have  to  compel  a 
man  to  protect  himself,  but  I  have  been  compelled  to  discharge 
men  for  an  example  in  order  to  make  other  men  use  methods 
of  protecting  themselves  provided  by  the  company. 

GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

I  thank  Mr.  Stout  for  his  remarks  and  will  now  call  on  Mr. 
Kearns,  Locomotive  Engineer. 


MR.  KEARNS: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  Speaking  of  headlights,  I  want 
to  go  back  to  my  first  experience  with  them.  My  early  experi- 
ence on  the  railroad,  when  I  started  to  work  as  a  call  boy  and 
wiper  in  the  roundhouse,  taught  me  that  the  headlight  was  the 
most  important  part  of  a  locomotive.  In  those  days  the  engineers 
were  assigned  to  regular  engines,  and  it  was  one  of  the  most 
important  duties  of  the  engineer  to  take  care  of  the  headlight- 
polishing  the  reflector  and  trimming  the  lamp.  They  took 
pride  in  having  a  good  light,  and  the  principal  thing  was  to  trim 
the  wick.  After  I  started  to  fire,  I  had  two  years'  experience 
before  I  was  considered  qualified  to  light  a  headlight.  The 
crust  formed  on  the  wick  should  not  be  broken,  consequently 
the  engineer  attended  to  the  trimming  and  the  lighting  of  the 
headlight.  I  speak  of  these  things  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the 
importance  of  the  headlight  from  the  engineer's  standpoint. 


110  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Speaking  of  the  electric  headlight,  my  first  experience  with 
one  was  two  years  after  I  was  promoted.  It  was  something  new 
on  the  road  I  was  working  for,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where 
washouts  and  slides  were  very  frequent,  and  I  found  it  was  of 
great  assistance  to  the  engineer  in  handling  a  train  with  safety. 
Of  course,  we  did  not  understand  it  very  well,  and  the  shop 
force  did  not  understand  them,  but  we  got  along.  The  Pyle 
Headlight  Company  did  not  issue  books  of  instructions  on  them, 
and  the  result  was  I  burned  up  one  machine  before  I  understood 
how  to  run  it.  I  was  furnished  with  another,  and  I  thought  at 
that  time  that  I  would  not  be  able  to  get  along  on  an  engine  un- 
less I  did  have  the  electric  headlight.  After  I  came  to  the 
Southern  Pacific,  I  found  the  old  oil  headlights  were  in  use  on 
the  freight  engines,  and  it  was  hard  for  me  to  get  back  to  the 
old  system. 

The  gas  headlight  is  a  great  improvement  over  the  oil 
lamp,  and  we  are  now  considering  an  improvement  over  that — 
the  electric  headlight  and  I  think  we  should  have  it.  It  is  im- 
portant in  enabling  engineers  to  determine  the  speed  at 
which  they  are  running,  and  also  distinguish  objects  on  the 
track.  Especially  on  our  division,  in  the  snowshed  district,  I 
think  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  we  should  have  the  electric 
headlight. 

Speaking  of  the  arc  and  incandescent,  I  would  favor  the 
arc  light  for  this  reason.  In  case  of  storms  of  wind  or  snow, 
where  the  glass  is  broken,  you  will  always  have  a  light  with  the 
arc,  where  with  the  other  it  is  liable  to  be  broken  with  the  glass. 
Another  advantage  in  having  the  electric  headlight  is  that  it 
enables  you  to  have  a  better  light  in  the  cab,  which  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  engineer  to  see  the  steam  and  air  and  water 
gauges,  and  enable  him  to  read  his  orders,  and  is  more  satisfac- 
tory in  general. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

We  thank  Mr.  Kearns  for  his  remarks,  and  will  now  call  on 
Mr.  A.  C.  Myers,  Assistant  Electrical  Engineer  of  the  South- 
ern Pacific. 


MR.  MYERS: 

My  first  experience  with  headlights  dates  back  some  fifteen 
years  ago,  when  I  entered  the  employ  of  one  of  our  Eastern 
trunk  lines  as  a  locomotive  fireman.  Like  my  predecessor  here, 
who  just  spoke,  I  learned  to  take  care  of  headlights  while  I  was 
a  fireman,  and  they  were  the  old  oil  type  of  lamp.  After  some 
eight  years'  experience  on  a  locomotive,  I  became  associated 
with  an  electric  manufacturing  company  in  the  East,  and  dur- 
ing my  employ  with  that  company  I  was  selected  to  investigate 
electric  arc  lights  for  headlight  use.  The  company,  at  that 
time,  was  developing  an  electric  headlight  set  very  similar  to 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  111 

the  Pyle  or  the  Remy  as  we  have  it  in  use  to-day.  They  had 
developed  this  lamp  to  a  stage,  when  it  was  handed  to  me,  where 
they  had  already  placed  a  number  of  them  in  service  on  one  of 
the  Western  roads.  The  troubles  multiplied  with  the  number 
placed  in  service.  After  thoroughly  analyzing  the  operating 
conditions  and  the  construction  of  the  lamp,  I  made  an  exten- 
sive report  on  it.  My  report  was  the  cause  of  the  company's 
abandoning  the  idea  of  building  arc  lights  for  locomotive  use. 

Now,  when  the  headlight  question  became  a  question  with 
the  Southern  Pacific  Company,  I  became  interested,  principally 
because  I  had  some  locomotive  experience,  and  being  connected 
with  the  Electrical  Engineer's  office,  I  was  placed  in  this  work. 
Some  six  or  eight  months  ago  we  began  testing  a  number  of 
types  of  light.  I  have  followed  locomotives  in  service  that  were 
equipped  with  the  various  lights,  acetylene,  the  arc  light,  and  the 
incandescent  light.  Sometime  last  August  I  believe,  we  made 
some  extensive  tests  with  the  incandescent  light,  to  which  Pro- 
fessor Scrugham  has  referred  in  his  paper.  We  found  from 
actual  demonstration  that  we  could  pick  up  an  object  the  size 
of  a  man,  dressed  in  dark  clothes,  on  the  track,  at  a  distance  of 
anywhere  from  860  to  1000  feet.  With  the  locomotive  running 
at  30  miles  an  hour,  we  were  able  to  discern  objects  and  dis- 
tinguish them  at  about  960  feet.  This  lamp  favorably  impress- 
ed me  as  the  right  light  for  locomotive  use.  I  have  been 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  arc  light.  With  all  of  its  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages,  from  an  engineer's  point  of  view  the 
incandescent  lamp  has  many  advantages  over  the  arc  light. 
First  of  all,  when  considering  a  headlight  for  locomotive  use,  we 
should  consider  reliability,  a  lamp  that  will  burn  steadily, 
throwing  a  beam  of  light  a  sufficient  distance  ahead  of  the  loco- 
motive. This  type  is  to  be  approved  over  one  that  does  not 
illuminate  the  track  continuously. 

The  next  important  feature  in  my  opinion,  is  that  the  lamp 
must  have  sufficient  brilliancy,  or  illumination,  to  throw  a 
steady  beam  on  the  track,  and  the  incandescent  lamp  has  this. 

This  can  be  shown  by  a  simple  example.  In  a  dark  room, 
if  your  eyes  have  been  accustomed  to  that  amount  of  light,  you 
can  see  objects  much  plainer  than  you  could  when  you  first 
came  into  the  room.  Such  is  true  of  the  locomotive  headlight. 
If  the  light  is  continuous,  and  of  uniform  brilliancy,  an  engin- 
eer's eye  becomes  adjusted,  and  is  more  keen  to  pick  up  objects 
than  where  he  has  a  lamp  that  is  anywhere  from  100  candle 
power  to  1500  candle  power.  Such  a  light  is  confusing,  and  his 
eye  does  not  become  adjusted  to  any  one  point.  With  the  incan- 
descent light,  and  the  accurate  mechanical  possibilities  of  fixing 
it,  we  can  hold  this  light  steadily  on  the  track,  reflected  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  800  to  900  feet,  and  hold  it  within  those  limits. 
This  alone  is  one  reason  why  we  are  to-day  advocating  the  new 
nitrogen  light. 


112  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

The  gentleman  who  preceded  me  spoke  about  the  unrelia- 
bility of  the  incandescent  light  in  case  of  snow  storm,  and,  if  I 
understood  the  gentleman  correctly,  he  stated  that  with  the  arc 
light,  with  the  glass  broken,  he  would  be  able  to  get  in.  This 
is  just  one  of  the  reasons  why  we  have  advocated  the  incandes- 
cent light.  With  the  glass  broken,  if  you  have  an  arc  light,  I 
can't  reason  how  you  could  get  in  at  all  because  the  currents  of 
air  will  blow  your  light  about,  and  it  will  be  difficult  to  keep  it 
burning.  With  the  incandescent,  you  won't  know  whether  you 
have  a  glass  in  your  headlight  or  not,  as  long  as  your  lamp  is  all 
right.  The  glass  is  not  there  to  protect  your  light. 

Coming  down  to  a  matter  of  reliability,  I  would  like  to  cite 
you  some  of  the  mechanism  of  the  arc  light,  some  of  the  parts 
on  which  it  is  dependent  for  its  accurate  operation,  and  the 
source  of  power  from  which  it  must  be  driven,  as  it  cannot  be 
driven  from  a  battery.  While  I  have  no  figures  to  substantiate 
these  remarks,  I  believe  the  failure  of  the  electric  arc  in  service 
will  be  1,000  to  1,  compared  with  an  incandescent  lamp  sup- 
plied by  a  battery.  A  battery  is  the  most  reliable  source  of 
electric  supply  that  is  known  to  the  engineering  profession. 
When  we  place  a  battery  on  a  locomotive  we  know  how  many 
hours  that  lamp  will  burn.  It  is  only  a  matter  of  placing  a  bat- 
tery there  that  will  burn  continuously  for  the  longest  trips  made. 
Besides,  it  is  possible  to  keep  our  current  supply  replenished 
from  source  such  as  a  generator  attached  to  the  locomotive. 

I  appreciate  that  the  time  is  limited  on  this  subject.  While 
perhaps  I  might  cite  you  some  more  points  I  want,  at  least,  to 
impress  upon  you  the  importance  of  a  reliable  light  for  loco- 
motive use,  one  that  can  be  depended  upon  at  all  times.  I 
thank  you,  gentlemen. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE  :     And  we  thank  Mr.  Myers.    We  will  now 
call  on  Mr.  R.  H.  Bishop  for  a  few  remarks. 


MR.  BISHOP: 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  am  very  much 
pleased  to  be  permitted  to  be  present,  and  perhaps  add  a  few 
words  to  what  has  already  been  said,  but  that  is  going  to  be 
mighty  hard  to  do.  I  might  be  able  to  emphasize  some  of  the 
statements  that  have  been  made.  I  realize  that  the  time  is 
short,  and  we  have  consumed  a  great  deal  more  time  than  we 
intended,  and  I  will  therefore  make  my  speech  very  short. 
About  the  electric  headlight;  it  has  come  to  the  notice  of  the 
public  and  the  employees  of  the  different  railroads  as  well  as 
the  employers,  while  they  possibly  don't  admit  it  as  rapidly  as 
we  will,  that  we  need  a  good  headlight.  And  we  have  taken 
measures  by  legislation  to  secure  it,  where  we  have  failed  to  get 
recognition  along  these  lines  in  other  ways. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  113 

Speaking  about  the  incandescent  lights-Mr.  Kearns  refer- 
red to  that — when  the  first  glass  breaks  out,  what  is  to  become 
of  the  globe  and  the  filaments  inside?  The  snow  hits  it,  or  the 
water  hits  it,  and  if  it  is  anything  like  the  globes  around  in  your 
houses,  it  will  not  last  very  long,  and  you  have  no  light  at  all. 
With  the  arc  light,  which  we  have  all  had  more  or  less  experi- 
ence with,  we  know  that  we  would  have  a  light  of  some  kind  in 
the  headlight,  which  will  be  better  than  a  white  lantern  set  up 
in  the  headlight,  with  which  you  cannot  see  anything.  And 
that  is  why  we  would  prefer  to  see  the  arc  light  continued  in  use 
until  such  time  as  we  have  been  given  assurances  that  the  in- 
candescent light  will  meet  the  requirements.  We  don't  care 
what  kind  of  a  light  it  is,  or  how  it  is  maintained,  but  we  want 
a  good  one.  We  want  the  illumination.  And,  in  order  to  be 
safe,  not  only  ourselves,  but  also  the  passengers  that  may  be  in 
the  train,  we  have  got  to  have  it. 

This  is  a  matter  that  goes  to  the  question  of  Safety  First 
right  there  on  the  head  end  of  a  train.  A  good  headlight  is  the 
first  thing  that  tends  to  Safety  First,  with  the  men  handling  the 
engine  complying  with  the  rules  that  govern. 

Referring  to  the  statement  made  by  one  of  my  precedessors 
that  he  had  to  discharge  men  because  they  did  not  take  care  of 
the  headlights  or  other  machinery  properly,  why  not  give  us 
some  machinery  that  we  are  satisfied  is  going  to  be  a  good  thing, 
and  then  find  out  whether  we  will  take  care  of  it  or  not,  before 
you  censure  and  criticise  us  when  we  haven's  machinery  of  this 
sort  ?  There  may  be  men  that  possibly  neglect  their  work  some- 
times. We  find  these  people  in  all  walks  of  life. 

I  don't  care  to  take  up  any  more  of  your  time,  but  will 
thank  you  for  the  opportunity  of  being  present. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE:  Thanking  Mr.  Bishop  for  his  remarks, 
we  will  call  on  Mr.  A.  M.  Metson,  Road  Foreman  of  Engines,  to 
close  this  discussion  on  electric  headlights. 


MR.  METSON: 

I  closing  this  discussion  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  one  great 
danger  from  a  glaring  headlight  which  has  not  been  touched 
upon.  At  the  Oakland  mole  we  have  a  great  mass  of  signals 
and  signal  lights  which  must  be  observed  and  obeyed  by  engine- 
men.  We  all  know  the  blinding  effect  of  many  brilliant  arc 
lights.  I  believe  that  the  possibilities  for  confusing  red  and 
green  lights  are  greatly  enhanced  when  the  arc  headlight  is 
used.  In  my  opinion  it  is  a  positive  danger  to  equip  a  locomo- 
tive with  a  headlight  of  excessive  brilliancy. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE:  There  is  the  question  of  Safety  First 
in  mining,  and  this  Conference  has  requested  the  Tonopah 
Miner's  Union  to  send  someone  to  discuss  Safety  First  as  it  ap- 


114  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

plies  to  mines,  and  it  has  sent  Mr.  Thos.  M.  Pagan,  its  Presi- 
dent.    I  am  glad  to  introduce  Mr.  Fagan : 

MR.  FAGAN  : 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  and  Fellow  Workers : 
On  behalf  of  the  Tonopah  Miners'  Union,  I  wish  to  express 
their  appreciation  of  the  invitation  extended  to  them  to  have  a 
representative  at  this  gathering. 

The  Western  Federation  of  Miners  is  the  main  organized 
body  of  metal  workers  of  the  western  part  of  the  United  States. 
Metal  mining  has  always  been  considered  a  hazardous  occupa- 
tion. It  has  been  considered  more  dangerous  than  almost  any 
other  occupation,  with  the  possible  exception  of  coal  mining, 
and  all  members  of  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners  have 
been  trained  to  take  care  of  their  safety  first. 

I  may  say  that  practically  the  only  skill  left  to  the  miner's 
profession  is  his  ability  to  take  care  of  his  life  in  dangerous 
places. 

The  wrecks  and  washouts  have  interfered  with  this  pro- 
gram so  much  that  I  am  afraid  that  I  can  only  touch  on  part  of 
what  I  had  laid  out  for  this  Conference.  And  the  principal 
point  I  had  in  mind  was  the  reason  why  it  appears  that  the 
workman  is  to  blame  for  approximately  85  per  cent,  of  the  acci- 
dents that  happen  to  him.  Now,  it  has  been  stated  by  all  of  the 
speakers  here  that  something  like  that  is  the  truth ;  that  approx- 
imately that  percentage  has  been  caused  by  their  own  careless- 
ness or  neglect.  Now,  I  hold  that  this  is  not  true — that  it  only 
appears  to  be  true;  and  when  we  come  to  consider  this  question 
of  whether  or  not  a  man  is  responsible  for  the  accident  that  hap- 
pens to  him,  it  becomes  necessary  to  understand  something  of 
the  relation  between  the  employer  and  the  employee,  or,  as  the 
law  puts  it,  between  the  master  and  his  servant.  Now,  the 
workingman  is  not  the  master  of  his  time.  He  has  sold  that 
time  to  get  him  a  living.  Speaking  quickly,  I  will  state  the  law 
as  I  intended  to  develop  it,  but  instead  of  developing  it,  I  shall 
state  it,  and  that  is  this:  That  a  workingman  who  works  for 
an  employer  has  this  relation  to  the  man  who  hires  him ;  that  he 
sells  a  certain  part  of  his  life  to  that  purchaser  at  its  value. 
Those  who  have  studied  the  question  have  formulated  this  law, 
that  labor  power  is  a  commodity  that  is  sold  on  the  market  ex- 
actly the  same  as  any  other  commodity.  When  the  railroad 
companies  or  the  mines  or  any  other  industrial  concern  hires  a 
man,  in  effect  it  purchases  a  commodity,  and  it  is  subject  to  the 
rules  of  the  exchange  that  all  other  commodities  are  subject  to, 
namely:  that  it  shall  be  sold  at  its  value.  The  value  of  a  com- 
modity is  the  cost  of  its  production.  The  cost  of  production  of 
the  labor  power  is  what  it  costs  to  produce  it  naturally.  The 
cost  of  production  is  determined  by  the  social  relations  that  ex- 
ist in  a  given  society, 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  115 

The  cost  of  production  of  the  labor  power  that  is  sold  as  a 
commodity  on  the  market  is  the  same  as  all  other  commodities 
that  are  sold,  and  is  determined  by  the  amount  of  raw  materials, 
the  amount  of  human  labor  that  is  embodied  in  the  production 
of  that  commodity ;  in  other  words,  enough  to  eat  is  the  cost  of 
his  production,  if  he  has  enough  to  provide  for  his  physical  exer- 
tion. If  he  has  mental  exertion  to  provide  for,  it  might  cost 
him  more.  It  might  be  where  it  cost  but  a  few  thousand  dollars 
to  produce  the  commonest  kind  of  a  laboring  man,  it  might  cost 
twenty  thousand  dollars  to  produce  a  technically  educated  man. 
But  the  same  law  runs  through  the  exchange  of  these  commodi- 
ties. It  is  only  exchanging  at  its  value  what  the  possessor  of 
the  commodity  can,  under  the  natural  law,  collect  as  its  value. 

Now,  this  is  true  where  the  units  of  society  are  organized. 
The  better  organized  they  are,  the  better  able  they  are  to  pro- 
tect their  own  commodity,  and  to  get  its  value.  The  Western 
Federation  of  Miners  have  studied  this  question  because  they 
have  had  occasion  to.  There  are  a  good  many  that  have  been 
atempting  to  protect  themselves  and  look  after  their  interest 
and  their  safety  first  through  their  organizations.  They  find 
they  are  best,  as  organizations ;  and  any  body  of  men  that  cannot 
act  as  an  organized  body,  cannot  accomplish  anything  as  an  un- 
organized body. 

If  the  working  class  are  going  to  co-operate  with  the  pur- 
chasers of  the  commodity,  they  must  act  with  them  as  an  organ- 
ized body.  Disorganized,  they  can  do  nothing.  It  requires  no 
argument  to  show  that. 

Now,  the  mining  industry  in  this  State  is  supposed  to  be 
protected  by  the  Nevada  Industrial  Insurance  Act.  I  am  in 
perfect  accord  with  the  Nevada  Industrial  Insurance  Act,  but  I 
take  the  stand  that  under  the  natural  law  that  determines  the 
value  of  commodities,  the  law  does  not  provide  for  a  just  valua- 
tion on  the  human  life  that  it  intends  to  pay  for.  We  will  rec- 
ognize as  a  matter  of  scientific  truth  that  the  workman  sells  his 
life  as  a  commodity,  and,  and,  as  his  life  is  sold  as  a  commodity, 
he  is  entitled  to  the  collection  of  the  value  of  it,  as  it  is  deter- 
mined as  a  commodity. 

Now,  at  the  present  time,  when  a  laboring  man  sells  one 
day's  labor,  in  effect  he  sells  one  day's  life. 

Now,  the  application  to  the  purchaser  of  that  commodity 
would  appear  to  be  settled  when  he  has  paid  for  that  day,  but 
there  is  another  application  which  the  purchaser  of  that  com- 
modity is  responsible  to  the  laborer  for,  and  that  is  this :  If  he 
buys  one  day  of  life  which  is  sold  willingly  in  order  to  live,  the 
purchaser  is  entitled  to  that  commodity  and,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, the  workman  makes  no  objection  to  delivering  it,  but 
he  does  not  deliver  to  that  purchaser  any  other  part  of  his  life  ex- 
cept the  day  that  he  has  sold.  Now,  if  in  the  course  of  his  em- 
ployment, he  becomes  permanently  injured  or  incapacitated  from 
performing  his  function  as  a  seller  of  laboring  power,  the  em- 


116  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

ployer  or  producer  who  put  him  in  an  unsafe  place  to  work,  or 
even  a  safe  place  to  work,  is  responsible  to  him  for  the  property 
that  he  has  destroyed — this  life  that  he  has  not  paid  for.  The 
Industrial  Insurance  Act  takes  the  stand  that  the  workman 
stands  half  of  this  loss.  The  purchaser  is  entirely  responsible  for 
it,  and  will  offer  him  only  half.  In  addition  to  that,  he  will  offer 
him  nothing  for  the  first  two  weeks ;  but  as  far  as  permitting 
the  Safety  First  examination,  the  safety  of  the  individual,  this 
law  has  not  one  bit  of  bearing  on  that  subject.  That  devolves 
upon  the  individual,  and  the  way  to  bring  that  about  is  to  instill 
into  the  mind  of  every  workman  we  may  employ  that  he  must 
protect  himself.  Look  after  his  safety  first. 

The  thing  that  prevents  him  from  doing  that  in  our  ordinary 
calling,  is  that  his  commodity  which  he  is  selling  does  not  rep- 
resent enough  value  to  make  it  worth  his  while  to  expend  his 
time  to  look  after  his  safety ;  in  other  words,  because  he  must  to 
protect  his  job.  I  will  give  you  an  example. 

I  am  told  that  I  must  put  in  20  inches.  [  have  had  13 
years'  experience  in  the  mining  business  and  I  think  I  cannot 
put  in  20  holes  in  less  than  seven  hours.  There  is  a  Safety 
Law  on  the  Statutes  that  I  shall  use  water  in  all  holes  that  are 
drilled  dry.  The  question  with  me  is,  can  I  afford  to  spend  30 
minutes'  time  to  get  some  water  and  be  one  hole  short  in  my 
round  and  lose  my  job?  I  look  it  over,  and  if  I  think  the  dan- 
ger is  great,  why  I  let  the  job  go,  but  if  it  is  not  great  enough, 
why  I  will  let  the  law  go.  I  think  that  is  the  practice  that  is 
common  to  all  working  men,  that  they  do  not  obey  the  law  when 
there  is  a  greater  stake  to  be  lost  by  obeying  it  than  there  is  lost 
by  following  it. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  Safety  First  should  be  their  first 
consideration,  but  safety  cannot  be  the  first  consideration  if  a 
human  life  is  worth  but  $5,000. 

This  is  the  result  of  a  system,  the  system  of  industry  where- 
ever  human  life  is  a  commodity  and  its  value  determined  in  the 
only  manner  in  which  the  value  of  any  commodity  can  be  deter- 
mined. 

As  the  representative  of  the  Miners'  Union,  I  take  the  stand 
that  Safty  First  can  be  the  first  consideration  when  the  working 
man  owns  his  own  life,  and  does  not  have  to  sell  it  to  a  purchaser 
in  order  to  live. 

I  also  take  the  stand,  and  the  most  of  the  miners  agree  with 
me,  that  if  it  becomes  profitable  for  any  corporation  or  employer 
to  make  it  safe,  he  will  make  it  safe;  if  it  is  not  profitable,  he 
cannot  make  it  safe.  All  follows  from  this  law. 

But,  speaking  of  the  Industrial  Insurance  Act  it  is  strictly 
in  line  with  evolutionary  progress,  it  is  strictly  logical,  and  is 
entitled  to  the  support  of  the  working  class,  as  well  as  the  em- 
ploying class.  Not  because  it  will  give  him,  in  itself,  anything. 
It  cannot  do  it,  but  it  can  be  amended  to  reach  a  point  where  the 
laboring  man  can  collect  for  his  life  its  value,  as  value  is  deter- 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  117 

mined  on  a  dressed  beef,  or  any  other  commodity.  At  the  pres* 
ent  time,  the  law  does  not  provide  that  he  shall  collect  for  it. 
Furthermore,  the  Industrial  Insurance  Act  makes  no  provision 
for  the  safety  of  the  individual  as  related  to  medical  aid.  Now,  i1 
Safety  First  is  an  object  of  the  law,  when  a  man  is  injured,  it 
would  appear  that  the  first  consideration  would  be  that  he  gets 
medical  attention.  The  law  makes  no  provision  that  he  shall 
get  medical  attention — either  first  aid,  or  any  other  aid.  They 
do  in  the  common  humanity  of  men  do  all  they  can — all  the  law 
will  leave  them  do;  but  it  just  illustrates  the  point  that  the  law 
is  not  primarily  intended  for  the  protection  of  human  life  at  all. 
It  is  primarily  intended  to  replace  a  property  that  has  been  de- 
stroyed. 

I  claim,  and  I  claim  that  the  laws  of  social  science  will  bear 
me  out,  that  the  Industrial  Insurance  Act  must  be  amended  to 
allow  for  first  aid ;  that  an  industry  is  responsible  for  taking  care 
of  its  injured,  also  that  the  laboring  man  is  not  responsible  for 
half  of  his  loss  of  property.  The  industry  in  which  he  was  in- 
jured is  responsible  for  the  entire  amount,  and  this  is  a  legiti- 
mate charge.  It  is  not  a  charity,  it  is  a  legitimate  charge  on 
that  industry — that  he  shall  be  compensated  from  the  moment 
he  is  incapacitated. 

Now  there  is  some  difficulty — quite  a  little  difficulty — in  the 
way  of  furnishing  first  aid  to  the  injured  workman,  and  in  this 
connection  you  will  see  the  objection  that  continually  comes  up 
between  the  working  man  and  the  manager  of  the  industry — the 
question  of  expense,  the  question  of  cost.  There  is  another 
problem,  the  doctor,  that  neither  the  employer  nor  the  employee 
can  handle.  It  becomes  impracticable  to  furnish  first  aid  to  the 
man  who  is  injured,  for  the  reason  they  cannot  furnish  the  first 
aid  at  its  cost,  or  what  it  is  worth.  Now,  there  is  one  solution 
of  that  problem.  The  Industrial  Commission  must  make  pro- 
vision for  their  own  medical  staff  and  they  must  have  their  own 
hospitals. 

Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  mining  industry  is  far  behind  in 
this  respect.  While  I  am  not  familiar  with  the  practice  of  the 
railroads,  I  understand  that  they  have  hospitals  well  equipped 
and  well  managed  and  organized.  Now,  that  is  one  respect  in 
which  the  law  should  be  amended. 

Now,  another  respect  in  which  the  law  should  be  amended 
in  order  to  promote  Safety  First  and  protect  the  lives  of  the 
individuals  who  own  it,  is  in  the  matter  of  compensation  of 
single  men.  At  the  present  time  if  a  single  man  is  killed  out- 
right, the  Industrial  Commission  is  responsible  to  the  amount, 
I  think,  of  $125.00,  or  some  such  amount.  Now,  if  he  is  per- 
manently injured,  it  might  mount  up  to  four  or  five  thousand 
dollars,  somewhere  along  in  there.  Under  the  law,  if  it  was  so 
organized  that  it  would  promote  safety  first,  a  man  who  was 
injured,  if  his  life  was  saved,  should  be  worth  less  money  than 
if  he  was  killed  outright.  I  don't  say  that  that  can  can  be  fixed, 


118  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

but  I  do  say  the  operation  of  the  law  tends  to  make  it  more  pro- 
fitable if  a  man  should  be  killed  than  if  his  life  should  be  saved, 
if  seriously  injured.  I  don't  know  whether  or  not  the  law  can 
be  amended  in  that  respect,  but  there  should  be  some  provision 
made  that  every  individual  company  who  has  an  accident 
should  be  made  to  pay  on  account  of  the  greater  mortality,  and 
that  would  remedy  it  to  some  extent.  Of  course,  the  Industrial 
Insurance  Act  will  be  amended.  Anyone  can  see  these  defects 
that  I  have  pointed  out. 

The  only  solution  of  the  difficulty  of  making  industrial  con- 
ditions such  that  the  individual  workman's  first  consideration 
will  be  his  safety  first,  is  that  condition  in  which  the  workman 
is  the  owner  of  his  own  life,  and  his  own  time ;  and  if  the  work- 
ing class,  as  a  whole,  of  this  State  can  collect  the  value  of  their 
life  as  a  commodity,  they  will  abolish  the  wage  system,  and 
make  it  four  times  as  safe  as  their  purchaser  could  ever  make  it 
for  them. 

I  thank  you,  gentlemen. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

As  a  State  officer,  and  speaking  for  the  other  State  officers, 
I  will  say  that  our  industrial  laws  are  passed  and  enforced  with 
the  primary  object  of  accident  prevention.  We  do  not  measure 
human  life  by  its  value  in  dollars  and  cents.  That  is  certain. 
The  desire  to  prevent  accidents  comes  first,  for  the  reason  that 
every  man's  life  is  worth  more  to  him  and  to  the  community  than 
all  the  dollars  in  existence.  Our  State  Mine  Inspector,  Mr.  Ed 
Ryan,  is  giving  the  best  year  of  his  life  going  from  mine  to  mine 
from  camp  to  camp,  in  pleasant  weather  and  in  storm,  over  the 
desert  and  mountain,  for  the  purpose  of  making  suggestions  and 
when  necessary,  giving  orders  for  changes  and  additions  which 
will  protect  men's  lives  and  prevent  accidents.  I  am  pleased  to 
call  on  Mr.  Ryan  as  the  next  speaker. 


ACCIDENT   PREVENTION   IN   MINES 

BY 

ED  RYAN,  STATE  INSPECTOR  OF  MINES 

I  believe  that  only  great  good  will  come  from  a  meeting  of 
this  kind.  Any  organized  effort  that  has  for  its  object  the  focus- 
ing of  the  attention  of  employer  and  employee  on  the  great  ne- 
cessity of  accident  prevention  is  a  blessing  and  should  meet  with 
the  approval  of  all. 

All  human  organization  of  whatsoever  kind  or  character 
whether  reliogious,  social  or  otherwise,  and  founded  upon  some 
distinct  idea,  some  pivotal  principle.  It  is  this  principle  under- 
lying the  organization  that  gives  it  character,  imparts  to  it  indi- 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  119 

viduality,  makes  for  it  history  and  distinguishes  it  from  other 
organizations.  To  illustrate:  An  individual  who  is  naturally 
charitably  inclined,  whose  feelings  are  easily  touched  at  the 
sight  of  suffering,  will,  if  one  is  within  reach,  become  a  member 
of  a  charitable  organization.  Why?  Because  the  dispensation 
of  charity,  being  the  distinct  idea  upon  which  the  organization 
rests,  is  the  very  principle  in  which  he  so  intensely  believes.  Af- 
ter becoming  a  member,  the  active  work  of  his  associates  is  the 
very  sunshine  of  his  soul  and  their  companionship  furnishes  him 
a  congenial  home. 

Now  this  organization,  if  this  meeting  culminates  in  an  or- 
ganization, will  have  for  its  fundamental  principal  "Accident 
Prevention."  I  see  before  me  representatives  of  large  business 
affairs  and  representatives  of  labor  organizations;  all  men  of 
keen  intellects  and  they  are  here  because  they  are  swayed  by  a 
great  sense  of  justice  and  because  the  fundamental  idea  upon 
which  this  organization  is  to  be  built  is  in  perfect  harmony  with 
their  belief.  Intelligent  minds  imbued  with  humane  desire 
make  fertile  soil  in  which  to  sow  thoughts  that  will  aid  in  the 
good  work. 

Accident  Prevention  is  certainly  a  theme  on  which  one 
might  dwell  for  some  time  were  he  to  endeavor  to  cover  all  indus- 
tries, but  as  my  daily  duties  have  to  do  with  mines  and  mining 
it  is  my  purpose  to  speak  for  a  few  moments  on  that  branch  of 
the  work  with  the  hopes  that  I  might  be  able  to  leave  with  you 
some  thought  that  will  add  to  this  great  movement,  and  possibly 
strengthen  the  bond  between  employer  and  employee  which  sure- 
ly follows  when  the  employee  knows  his  employer  has  his  inter- 
ests at  heart. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  by  passing  safety  acts  and 
having  inspectors  who  visit  the  different  properties  every  few 
months,  that  everything  has  been  done  that  possibly  can  be  for 
the  prevention  of  accidents.  This  is  not  so.  Laws  are  nothing 
more  or  less  than  educational  means  and  the  penalty  provided  in 
the  act  is  simply  the  punishment  for  the  one  who  fails  to  learn 
his  lesson.  Now  it  is  generally  known  that  Nevada  leads  in 
laws  looking  to  the  safety  of  the  men  employed  underground. 
We  have  taken  thirty-one  of  the  most  important  points  in  the 
law,  the  violation  of  wrhich  has  caused  most  of  the  accidents,  and 
under  the  heading,  "Don't,"  called  to  the  attention  of  the  opera- 
tor and  miner  to  the  frequently  occurring  happenings  that  must 
be  avoided.  These  have  been  printed  on  cloth  and  furnished  to  all 
operating  mines  in  the  State  and  they  are  posted  at  the  collar  of 
the  shafts  and  at  each  working  level.  These  signs  keep  before 
the  men  many  of  the  things  to  be  avoided  if  accidents  are  to  be 
lessened.  Now  with  these  signs  constantly  before  them  why  do 
we  have  as  many  accidents  as  we  do?  The  answer  can  only  be 
that  the  men  are  incompetent  or  wilfully  violate  the  provisions 
looking  to  their  safety,  or  are  compelled  to  forego  the  exercise 
of  caution  as  pointed  out  by  the  signs  in  order  to  meet  the  re- 


120  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

quirements  expected  by  those  in  charge.  We  all  know  that  men 
working  constantly  in  an  atmosphere  of  danger  become  careless 
and  take  chances  they  should  not  take  and  daily  violate  the  State 
laws  and  company  rules.  Operators  in  some  instances  are  re- 
sponsible to  a  great  extent  for  the  haphazard  and  careless  man- 
ner in  which  the  men  do  their  work  by  reason  of  a  lack  of  dis- 
cipline. Some  mine  foremen  are  competent  and  efficient  in  all 
other  duties,  but  sadly  deficient  in  discipline.  Many  times,  per- 
haps, the  foreman  is  simply  carrying  out  the  policy  of  those 
higher  in  authority,  but  generally  speaking  I  believe  the  atti- 
tude of  the  superintendent  and  foreman  as  regards  carelessness 
is  reected  by  the  men.  If  those  in  charge  are  careless  and  in- 
different as  to  rules  and  regulations  the  men  will  treat  these 
matters  lightly.  If,  however,  the  superintendent  shows  an 
earnest  desire  to  have  all  rules  and  regulations  looking  to  safety 
observedin  fact,  makes  the  prevention  of  accidents  one  of  the 
main  features  in  his  department,  his  foreman  will  usually  reflect 
that  policy  and  in  turn  will  see  to  it  that  the  men  will  carefully 
observe  the  different  precautions  taken  for  their  safety,  and  in 
this  manner  accidents  will  be  reduced. 

Operators,  if  they  wish  to  surround  themselves  with  home 
loving,  industrious,  law  abiding  miners  cannot  afford  to  neglect 
discipline.  Slipshod  methods  beget  carelessness  and  indiffer- 
ence and  the  result  is  sure  to  be  disagreeable  conditions.  Lack 
of  proper  discipline  usually  results  in  the  gradual  elimination 
of  the  better  class  of  labor,  with  i  stresulting  increase  of  acci- 
dents and  inefficiency.  Laxity  of  discipline  is  entirely  to  preva- 
lent in  some  of  our  mines,  and  that  the  cause  "  Disobedience  of 
Orders"  would  not  be  so  frequently  given  in  accident  reports  if 
we  hand  better  discipline.  Let  the  miner  know  that  all  laws, 
rules  and  regulations  are  to  be  obeyed  and  if  he  shows  no  dispo- 
sition to  comply  with  them,  get  rid  of  him  and  thus  protect  him 
against  himself  and  the  careful  miner  against  his  more  careless 
fellow  worker. 

Centralize  as  much  as  possible,  responsibility,  what  is  ev- 
erybody's business  is  nobdoy's  business. 

The  Nevada  Consolidated  Copper  Mines  has  recently  inaug- 
urated a  splendid  system  which  will  go  a  long  way  toward  bring- 
ing about  the  co-operation  of  all  their  employees  in  the  matter 
of  accident  prevention.  A  monthly  bulletin  is  issued  showing 
the  number  of  accidents  in  each  and  every  branch  of  work.  The 
name  of  the  one  in  direct  charge  of  the  work  is  given  and  all 
accidents  happening  on  the  different  shifts  and  in  each  depart- 
ment is  written  under  the  name  of  the  one  in  charge.  The  man- 
agement scans  closely  the  accident  record  of  each  department 
and  commends  by  favorable  comment,  in  the  monthly  bulletin 
issued  by  the  Safety  Department,  all  those  in  charge  who  have 
clean  record  as  far  as  lack  of  accidents  go.  Suggestions  looking 
toward  safety  are  eagerly  sought  and  earnestly  considered. 
Sometime  ago  I  happened  to  be  in  one  of  their  pits  when  an  ac- 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  121 

cident  happened  to  a  fireman  on  one  of  the  shovels.  It  was  not 
an  unavoidable  accident  but  an  unforseen  one.  This  accident 
revealed  and  outlined  the  method  of  prevention.  The  master 
mechanic  was  one  of  the  first' on  the  ground  and  immediately  took 
steps  to  prevent  a  like  occurrence,  and  ere  night  every  shovel  in 
the  pit  was  equipped  to  overcome  the  weakness  which  caused  the 
trouble.  It  was  the  first  accident  directly  traceable  to  this 
man's  department  and  he  was  all  wrought  up  over  the  unfor- 
tunate affair  as  it  had  always  been  his  constant  effort  to  leave 
nothing  undone  in  his  work  to  protect  those  under  him.  I  sim- 
ply cite  this  case  to  show  how  earnestly  some  men  do  their  part 
in  this  great  work.  Compare  the  earnestnees  with  which  this 
man  did  his  work  with  that  of  the  foreman  who  outlined  to  the 
superintendent  his  method  of  doing  a  certain  work  connected 
with  the  mine.  As  outlined  by  him  it  was  perfectly  safe  and 
met  with  the  approval  of  the  superintendent.  A  few  days  later 
an  accident  occurred  in  the  same  line  of  work  discussed  but  a 
few  days  before  and  on  investigation  it  was  found  that  the  meth- 
od as  formerly  outlined  was  not  the  one  in  vogue  at  all  and  he 
had  deliberately  decieved  his  superior  in  authority. 

Not  long  ago  in  going  through  a  property  with  a  foreman 
we  came  to  a  man  working  in  a  stope  who  had  drilled  fourteen 
holes  in  close  proximity  to  five  missed  holes.  This  is  forbidden, 
and  that  it  was  forbidden  was  well  known  to  the  shrift  boss  who 
had  been  through  that  very  stope  at  least  twice  that  very  shrift. 
Did  the  shifter  reflect  the  wishes  of  his  foreman?  If  not,  was 
he  severely  reprimanded  or  did  the  foreman  pass  it  by  without 
a  word  and  thus  lay  the  foundation  for  ap  ractice  that  can  only 
result  fatally. 

Far  better  would  it  have  been  for  one  of  our  mining  com- 
panies had  one  of  those  in  charge  followed  the  law  relative  to 
the  use  of  gates  than  to  have  permitted  them  to  be  discarded  by 
one  who  perhaps  thought  them  a  useless  fad,  and  thus  involve 
them  in  a  damage  suit  and  perhaps  criminal  prosecution  by  rea- 
son of  a  man  falling  from  a  cage.  Almost  every  investigation 
of  any  accident  brings  out  the  fact  that  some  employee  either 
through  the  lack  of  knowledge  or  wilfulness  violates  the  rules. 
Let  us  ask  ourselves  the  question,  are  we  doing  our  full  duty  by 
simply  posting  the  rules  and  regulations. 

About  two  years  ago  in  an  address  before  the  Engineers' 
Club  of  this  University,  speaking  of  accident  preventions,  I  said : 
"The  common  mandates  of  humanity  should  cause  all  to  get  to- 
gether on  this  important  subject.  Already  in  this  State  since 
the  passage  of  the  Employees'  Liability  Law  some  of  the  mine 
managers  have  met  together  and  exchanged  ideas  on  accident 
prevention.  Such  meetings  are  bound  to  bring  good  results,  one 
becomes  the  other's  teacher  and  as  a  result  all  get  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  needs  of  the  industry.  Why  not  go  farther  in 
these  meetings  and  take  the  miners  in.  Let  them  know  they 
have  a  duty  to  perform  in  this  humane  work.  Almost  daily  I 


122  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

see  men  not  only  exposing  their  own  lives  but  those  of  others. 
Many  of  them  do  not  understand  that  they  are  asked  to  do  or  not 
to  do  a  certain  thing  because  of  the  law.  Bosses  cannot  con- 
stantly watch  over  them,  therefore  they  must  share  in  the  re- 
sponsibility of  carrying  out  the  law.  Let  all  meet  together,  dis- 
cuss frankly  our  responsibilities,  tell  one  another  what  is  expect- 
ed and  a  better  feeling  will  prevail." 

I  believed  then  and  believe  now  that  a  better  understanding, 
a  spirit  of  co-operation  that  will  go  to  the  very  bottom  of  the 
situation  and  grip  the  very  heart  of  the  miner  can  be  had  by 
putting  the  matter  of  safety  right  u  pto  them.  Point  out  to  them 
that  they  and  their  families  are  the  direct  sufferers  from  acci- 
dents. Take  them  right  in  as  partners  in  the  Safety  First  busi- 
ness, inculcate  caution  into  their  minds  and  should  you  find  any 
who  do  not  wish  to  invest  in  the  business,  for  their  own  sakes, 
get  rid  of  them,  for 

The  man  who  fails  in  Safety  First 

To  see  the  current  bent, 

Spells  danger  for  himself  and  friends; 

Lacks  purpose,  lacks  intent. 

But  the  man  who  boasts  for  Safety  First 

Will  ever  wax  content, 

For  he's  the  guy  who  puts  the  ax 

In  every  accident. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

We  thank  Mr.  Ryan  for  his  very  able  speech  and  his  dem- 
onstration which  shows  you  what  the  State  is  doing  for  the  pre- 
vention of  accidents,  and  in  saving  men  who  have  sustained  acci- 
dents. I  now  introduce  Mr.  Hunsinger  of  Goldfield,  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  miners  and  a  practical  miner  himself. 


MR.  HUNSINGER: 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  This  is  a  sort 
of  surprise  to  me,  because  when  our  Superintendent  asked  me  if 
I  would  come  up  here,  I  supposed  naturally  that  it  was  because  I 
was  good  looking,  and  not  because  I  was  to  talk.  There  having 
been  so  much  said  already,  I  do  not  think  it  is  necessary  for  me 
to  say  but  a  few  words.  But  I  will  say  what  we  are  doing  in 
Goldfield  for  the  Safety  First  Movement.  Miners,  superinten- 
dents, shift  bosse.8,  and  everybody,  are  getting  together  and  tak- 
ing this  thing  up,  and  if  any  one  has  any  suggestion  to  make, 
and  makes  it  to  the  shift  boss,  and  he  don't  take  it  up,  they  can 
take  it  to  the  foreman  or  the  superintendent,  and  he  will  give  it 
attention.  I  don't  believe  any  of  the  accidents  we  have  in  Gold- 
field  are  the  fault  of  the  management,  or  the  fault  of  the  miner. 
They  are  these  unfortunate  things  we  cannot  help. 

We  are  forming  a  Unity  Club  in  Goldfield,  taking  in  every- 
body but  negros  and  Chinamen,  and  I  am  not  certain  but  we 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  123 

will  take  them  in  before  we  get  through.     This  move  is  not 
only  for  the  benefit  of  Goldfield,  but  also  for  the  benefit  for  the 
Safety  First  Movement  all  through  the  State. 
Thank  you,  gentlemen. 


CHAIRMAN: 

The  next  address  is  by  Dr.  McLean. 


FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED 

BY 

DOCTOR  DONALD  MCLEAN,  Chief  Medical  Adviser, 
Nevada  Industrial  Commission 

"Safety  First" — translated  into  medical  phraseology- 
would  read,  "Prophylaxis  or  Prevention  of  Infection  after  the 
Accident",  and  it  is  with  this  element  of  the  movement  that  I 
desire  to  deal. 

The  Nevada  Industrial  Commission  has  been  in  operation 
not  quite  seven  months,  for  which  reason  our  statistics  are  not 
exhaustive,  and  are  no  fair  criterion.  One  or  two  instances  of 
infection,  due  to  neglect,  may  be  cited : 

Class  No.  1.     Slight  scratch  on  little  finger,  neglected — 
became  infected,  result — amputation  of  finger. 

Case  No.  2.     Slight  cut  on  wrist,  neglected — three  days' 
infection — lost  six  weeks. 

Case  No.  3.     Hand  bruised,  neglected  due  to  no  doc- 
tor being  in  camp,  abcess  resulted — lost  six  weeks. 

Case  No.  4.  Bruised  finger — infection,  loss  of  fin- 
ger through  ankylosis  and  destruction  of  tendons — time  lost, 
two  months. 

The  greatest  experience  in  this  matter  is  that  of  the  United 
Steel  Corporation,  and  Doctor  W.  O'Neil  Sherman  their  Chief 
Surgeon,  is  authority  for  the  following  statement: 

"To  give  you  an  idea  of  the  value  of  first  aid  properly  ad- 
ministered, I  will  say  that  during  the  past  four  years  we  have 
been  able  to  reduce  the  number  of  infected  cases  from  50  and  75 
per  cent,  to  1-10  of  1  per  cent.,  or  slightly  over  one  in  one  thous- 
and. The  infected  cases  take  three  and  one-half  times  as  long 
to  recover  as  the  non-infected." 

The  experience  of  the  Nevada  Industrial  Commission  is,  that 
the  infected  cases  take  seven  and  eight  times  as  long  to  recover 
as  the  non-infected;  but,  as  already  stated,  our  experience  has 
been  small  and  our  infections  have  been  severe. 

It  is  the  infection  following  an  accident  that  is  responsible 
for  the  stiff  and  useless  joints  and  for  the  amputated  limbs  in 
at  least  75  per  cent,  of  the  cases,  and  not  the  accident  itself. 


124  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

When  we  reach  the  Industrial  Millenium,  there  will  be  no 
accidents,  but  until  then  it  is  hardly  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
accidents  can  be  entirely  prevented. 

Having  seen,  therefore,  how  greatly  the  accident  toll  is  in- 
creased by  neglect  and  infection,  you  will,  I  am  sure,  agree  with 
me  that  the  cost  is  too  great  if  it  insures  against  infection.  How 
may  this  be  achieved?  By  first  aid  properly  applied.  Of  what 
does  this  consist?  Let  me  again  quote  from  Dr.  Sherman: 

"First  aid  to  be  successfully  applied  is  dependent  upon 
three  factors: 

First — Properly  equipped  and  organized  emergency  hos- 
pitals. Where  the  number  of  accidents  is  sufficiently  large,  a 
modern  emergency  hospital  with  the  necessary  equipment,  in 
charge  of  qualified  surgeons  and  female  nurses,  should  be  in- 
stalled. 

Second — The  intelligent  co-operation  of  all  employees.  The 
success  of  the  movement  is  in  proportion  to  the  interest  and, 
enthusiasm  shown  by  the  operating  managers.  All  officials  and 
workmen  should  familiarize  themselves  with  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations on  the  subject. 

Third — Education  of  the  individual.  The  education  of  the 
employee  is  accomplished  by  the  organization  of  "first  aid" 
squads  throughout  the  works.  The  revised  Red-cross  text  book 
on  "first  aid"  is  used  as  a  standard  work.  Each  class  is  given 
twelve  lectures  and  demonstrations.  Competitive  meets,  at 
which  prizes  are  given  to  the  winning  crews,  are  held  to  stimu- 
late and  keep  up  the  the  interest  in  the  work.  In  a  short  time 
the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  expects  to  have  six  thousand  "first 
aid"  men  in  the  organization. 

This  would  be  the  ideal  method  were  we  of  Nevada  situated 
as  they  are  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  the  other  great  industrial 
centers.  With  our  sparse  population,  scarcity  of  doctors,  nurses 
and  hospitals,  "first  aid"  becomes  a  more  serious  matter. 

Frequently  an  injured  man  is  far  away  from  a  doctor  and 
many  more  from  a  hospital.  Under  such  conditions,  what  can 
be  done  to  lessen  the  consequences  of  accidents  which  occur  in 
the  small  communities? 

Some  effort  should  be  made  to  hold  "first  aid"  classes 
throughout  the  State,  and  a  special  effort  made  to  interest  every 
doctor  in  the  movement,  and  through  him,  one  or  members  in 
each  community  where  there  is  no  doctor.  As  to  what  these 
courses  should  consist  of,  I  shall  refer  those  interested  to  the 
American  Red  Cross  "First  Aid'  text  book,  Industrial  edition. 

Were  I  asked  to  give  my  personal  views  on  the  subject  of 
the  prevention  of  infection  following  accidents,  I  am  positive 
it  would  consist  chiefly  of — Don'ts. 

Don't  wash  a  wound  with  antiseptic  solutions.  You  will 
poke  in  more  dirt  and  more  pus-forming  germs  than  you  will 
wash  out. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  125 

Don't  cover  a  wound  or  a  burn  with  ointment  or  salves,  or 
with  an  ordinary  rag  or  handkerchief.  Pus-forming  organism 
are  parasites  upon  the  living  animal  tissues,  chielly  human,  and 
you  are  more  apt  to  infect  a  wound  using  a  handkerchief  or  a 
towel  that  has  been  in  contact  with  your  hands,  than  you  are  if 
you  leave  it  uncovered. 

Don't  neglect  a  cut  or  scratch.  No  matter  how  trivial, 
cover  it  with  a  clean  dressing,  and  by  clean  I  mean  aseptic,  be- 
ing careful  to  see  that  it  does  not  become  infected  when  being 
applied.  If  it  becomes  inflamed,  it  is  infected.  Hunt  a  doctor, 
and,  if  none  is  available,  paint  it  with  tincture  of  iodine — the 
one  antiseptic  permissible,  and  that  only  for  slight  wounds. 

Don't  haul  an  injured  man  around  to  see  where  he  is  hurt. 
You  only  add  to  the  shock  and  exhaustion,  and  can  do  no  good. 
Send  for  a  doctor.  A  man  seriously  injured  will  instinctively 
take  the  most  restful  position,  even  if  unconscious. 

Don't  raise  a  man's  head  unless  you  know  he  is  suffering 
from  heart  stroke  or  any  injury  to  the  skull.  For  all  other  con- 
ditions it  is  better  to  raise  his  feet  and  legs,  or  at  least  have  his 
head  level  with  his  body. 

Don't  cover  a  bleeding  wound.  If  the  bleeding  is  profuse, 
apply  a  tourquinet  above  the  wound  and  put  the  greatest  pres- 
sure on  the  flexor  surface.  The  arteries  are  all  on  the  flexor 
surface  and  fall  in  the  bend  of  the  joints.  Hence  the  crouch  of 
pre-historic  man — to  protect  his  arteries. 

Don't  attempt  to  move  a  foreign  body  from  the  eye  with 
a  pencil,  a  match  or  a  knife  point.  Use  a  clean  cloth,  or  a  loop 
of  horsehair,  and  if  that  fails,  send  him  to  a  doctor,  preferably 
an  eye  specialist. 

Don't  use  a  poultice  of  any  kind  under  any  circumstances  on 
the  eyes  or  on  an  open  wound.  Use  a  cold  water  compress  on 
the  eyes. 

In  conclusion,  "  first  aid"  is  no  longer  an  experiment.  It 
is  as  much  a  necessity  as  any  other  part  of  the  Safety  First 
Movement,  and  perhaps  more,  for  the  reason  that  while  acci- 
dents cannot  be  entirely  prevented,  infection  can. 

What  does  this  work  cost?  Does  it  pay  and  whom  does  it 
benefit? 

The  cost  of  material  is  infinitesimal.  A  train  crew's  outfit 
costs,  $15.00;  the  largest  shop  outfit,  $15.00.  These  outfits 
should  be  put  in  a  durable  aseptic  container  and  some  official 
should  be  made  responsible  for  them. 

In  regard  to  the  benefits,  the  injured  man  gets  the  most. 
It  is  an  insurance  that  insures  the  man  against  the  accident  be- 
ing made  worse  by  improper  handling.  Benefits  to  the  sur- 
geon are  too  obvious  to  mention.  Benefits  to  the  company  and 
the  community  at  large — diminished  death  rate,  and  fewer  sup- 
plies. 

The  one  sin  unpardonable  in  modern  surgery  is  infection  ; 
that  should  be  true  of  industrial  accidents. 


126  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Therefore,  to  all  interested  in  Safety,  I  would  say — Let 
your  watchword  be,  "Prevention  of  Accidents  and  Prevention 
of  Infection." 


CHAIRMAN  :     The  next  paper  is  by  Professor  Peter  Frand- 
sen. 


FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED 

BY 

PROFESSOR  FRANDSEN,  of  the  University  of  Nevada 

While  each  kind  of  accident  or  injury  requires  its  own  par- 
ticular kind  of  treatment,  there  are  certain  fundamental  prin- 
ciples in  all  such  cases  which  it  is  well  to  emphasize.  We  may 
group  them  under  two  heads;  (1)  general  rules,  and  (2)  con- 
ditions demanding  immediate  attention. 

Aimless  activity,  undirected  by  common  sense  or  definite 
knowledge  is  apt  to  result  in  more  harm  than  good.  It  is  there- 
fore well  to  bear  in  mind  the  following  rules  : 

1.  First  of  all  it  is  necessary  that  some  one  with  a  cool 
head  and  some  knowledge  of  what  to  do  should  take  charge  and 
keep  the  crowrd  of  interested,  well-meaning  but  flustered  and 
helpless  individuals  away  from  the  vicinity  of  the  injured  person. 

2.  Place  the  injured  man  in  a  comfortable  position  with 
his  head  slightly  raised  and  give  him  plenty  of  fresh  air. 

3.  Loosen  the  clothing  and  determine,  if  possible,  the  na- 
ture and  extent  of  his  injuries. 

4.  Then  send  some  one  for  a  physician  with  information 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  accident  or  injury  so  the  physician  may 
come  prepared  with  the  proper  materials  and  remedies. 

5.  Then  do  what  you  know  will  be  beneficial  and  if  you 
lack  the  knowledge  do  nothing  except  to  make  the  patient  as 
comfortable  as  possible. 

6.  Do  not  follow  the  common   practice   of  giving  large 
doses  of  whiskey.     Large  doses  are  paralyzing  and  nearly  al- 
ways detrimental.     Where  indicated,  the  medical  dose  of  whis- 
key is  a  teaspoonful  in  a  quarter  cup  full  of  warm  water,  and, 
if  there  is  severe  bleeding,  even  this  amount  may  be  dangerous. 

CONDITIONS  DEMANDING  IMMEDIATE  ATTENTION 
The   conditions    requiring    immediate    attention    are    hem- 
orrhage, stopping    of    breathing    and    shock.     Next    in    order 
comes  the  dressing  of  wounds,  splinting  of  broken  bones  and  the 
transportation  of  injured  person. 

Hemorrhage 

Profuse  bleeding  is  always  a  serious  matter  and  may  result 
in  death  or  dangerous  collapse  in  a  short  while.  If  the  cut  ves- 
sel is  an  artery  the  blood  will  come  in  spurts  and  be  of  a  bright 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  127 

red  color ;  if  it  be  a  vein  the  blood  will  flow  in  a  steady  stream 
and  be  of  a  darker  purple  color.  If  one  knows  the  location  of 
the  main  blood  vessels  he  may  apply  pressure  with  his  fingers 
or  a  knotted  bandage  directly  to  the  vessel;  if  an  artery,  be- 
tween the  wound  and  the  heart,  if  a  vein,  beyond  the  wound. 
The  tourniquet  or  Spanish  windlass  is  an  effective  but  rather 
painful  method.  A  cork  or  pebble  is  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  cloth 
or  a  knot  is  tied  in  cravat  bandage  and  the  knot  or  wrapped  ob- 
ject placed  directly  over  the  vessel.  The  ends  of  the  bandage 
are  then  tied  in  a  loose  single  knot  on  the  opposite  side,  a  stick 
is  inserted  and  the  bandage  ends  tied  in  a  square  knot  over  the 
stick.  By  twisting  the  stick  any  amount  of  pressure  can  be  ex- 
erted until  the  bleeding  stops.  It  may  be  held  in  position  by 
tying  another  bandage  around  the  limb  over  the  free  end  of  the 
stick.  The  tourniquet  should  not  be  left  on  for  more  than  an 
hour  because  the  complete  stoppage  of  the  circulation  will  soon 
result  in  the  death  of  the  part  deprived  of  blood.  It  may  be 
gradually  loosened  from  time  to  time  and  again  tightened  if 
bleeding  recommences.  If  one  does  not  know  the  position  of  the 
main  vessels  or  if  the  wound  is  in  a  region  like  the  abdomen 
where  the  tourniquet  cannot  be  applied,  direct  pressure  may  be 
given  to  the  wound  itself,  either  by  thrusting  the  fingers  into 
the  wound  or  such  objects  as  absorbent  cotton,  soft  cloth  or  clean 
waste.  It  is  desirable  that  the  fingers  or  cloths  should  be  sterile 
or  disinfected  in  a  1-1000  corrosive  sublimate  solution,  but  if  the 
patient  is  in  grave  danger  of  bleeding  to  death  it  is  better  to  take 
chances  on  infecting  the  wound. 

Artifical  Respiration 

After  many  accidents,  such  as  drowning,  electric  shock,  coal 
gas  and  other  forms  of  poisoning,  severe  hemorrhage,  and  in  fact 
almost  any  kind  of  injury,  breathing  may  be  very  feeble  or  cease 
altogether.  In  such  cases  artifical  respiration  persistently  kept 
up  for  an  hour  or  more  may  be  the  means  of  saving  a  life  appar- 
ently extinguished.  The  apparatus  known  as  a  pulmotor,  if 
such  is  available,  is  the  most  effective  device  we  have.  There 
are,  however,  several  other  methods  of  artificial  respiration 
which  any  person  may  perform  by  hand.  The  so-called  Schae- 
fer  method  is  one  of  the  simplest  and  has  the  further  advantage 
over  the  older  methods  of  not  requiring  that  the  patient's  tongue 
be  held  or  fastened.  The  patient  is  placed  on  his  stomach  on  a 
level  place.  His  head  is  turned  on  left  side  to  keep  mouth  and 
nose  away  from  the  ground.  The  operator  either  kneels  by  the 
side  of  the  patient  or  sits  on  the  latter's  hips  and  places  both 
hands  over  the  small  of  the  patient's  back  with  the  thumbs  near- 
ly touching  and  the  fingers  spread  out  over  the  lowest  ribs.  He 
swings  his  body  forward,  counting  three,  slowly,  on  the  forward 
movement;  then  quickly  swings  himself  backward,  exerting 
pressure  on  the  patient's  body  until  his  arms  are  straight,  when 


128  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

the  pressure  is  released.     Count  three  again   and   repeat  the 
movements  ten  or  twelve  times  a  minute. 

Shock 

Following  accidents  of  all  sorts  the  condition  known  as 
shock  is  apt  to  result  and  generally  requires  immediate  atten- 
tion. It  is  essentially  a  more  or  less  complete  checking  of  the 
vital  processes  of  heart  beat  and  breathing  due  to  a  profound 
exhaustion  of  the  nervous  mechanisms  controlling  these  acts. 
The  symptoms  are  cold,  clammy  skin,  weak,  rapid  pulse,  sigh- 
ing and  irregular  breathing,  half-opened  eyelids,  dilated  pupils, 
mental  dullness  or  unconsciousness,  and  there  may  be  vomiting. 

The  treatment  consists  of  applying  heat  to  the  surface  of 
the  body  and  internal  stimulation.  Hot  water  bottles,  hot 
bricks,  stones  or  plates  wrapped  in  cloths,  bags  of  hot  sawdust 
or  flannels  wrung  out  in  hot  water  should  be  applied,  especially 
over  the  heart  and  abdomen,  between  the  thighs  and  under  the 
arm-pits.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  burn  the  patient  whose 
lowered  sensibility  may  easily  make  this  possible.  Rubbing  the 
limbs  toward  the  heart  will  also  aid  in  stimulating  the  circula- 
tion. Where  feasible  the  patient's  body  may  be  lowered  into  a 
warm  bath  and  kept  there  until  a  physician  arrives.  If  the  per- 
son is  sensible  and  able  to  swallow,  drinks  of  hot  coffee,  hot  milk, 
or  teaspponful  doses  of  whiskey,  brandy  or  aromatic  spirits  of 
amonia  in  half  a  wineglassful  of  hot  water  may  be  given  him  at 
intervals  of  15  minutes  for  an  hour  or  more.  If  unable  to  swal- 
low stimulants  may  be  injected  into  the  rectum  or  given  hypo- 
dermically.  A  few  drops  of  ammonia  water  sprinkled  on  a 
handkerchief,  which  should  be  waived  back  and  forth  over  the 
patient's  nose  but  not  brought  in  direct  contact  with  his  face, 
may  also  be  of  use. 

I  have  been  particularly  asked  to  briefly  discuss  the  treat- 
ment for  electrical  shock.  The  first  thing  necessary  is  of  course 
to  rescue  the  person.  If  possible  without  loss  of  time,  the  cur- 
rent should  be  turned  off.  The  patient  in  contact  with  a  wire 
carrying  an  electric  current  will  transfer  the  current  to  the  res- 
cuer if  the  latter  puts  himself  in  the  line  of  passage  of  the  cur- 
rent by  either  touching  the  patient  or  bringing  any  part  of  his 
uninsulated  body  in  contact  with  the  live  wire  or  other  appar- 
atus carrying  the  electric  current.  Rubber  gloves  and  boots  are 
the  best  insulators  but  if  these  are  not  available,  the  rescuer 
should  stand  on  a  dry  board,  dry  coat,  or  a  thick  piece  of  dry  pa- 
per and  cover  his  hands  with  similar  material.  Grasp  the  pa- 
tient's clothing  and  with  one  vigorous  motion  pull  him  off  the 
wire.  A  live  wire  lying  on  a  patient  may  be  safely  flipped  off 
with  a  dry  board.  A  live  wire  may  also  be  safely  cut  with  an  ax 
or  hatchet  with  a  dry  wooden  handle  and  the  electric  current 
may  be  short  circuited  by  dropping  a  crowbar  or  poker  on  the 
wire. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  129 

The  treatment  for  electric  shock  is  the  same  as  that  we  have 
just  described  for  shock  in  general.  The  clothing  about  the 
throat,  chest  and  abdomen  should  be  loosened.  Prompt  treat- 
ment, especially  artifical  respiration  carried  on  persistently  for 
an  hour  or  more,  will  result  in  the  recovery  of  most  patients  un- 
less the  shock  has  been  immediately  fatal.  Another  feature 
prominent  in  electrical  accidents  is  the  usually  severe  burns. 
Burns  are  classified  according  to  their  severity  into  three  kinds, 
first,  second  and  third  degree.  The  first  is  characterized  by  a 
simple  reddening  of  the  skin;  the  second  by  the  formation  of 
blisters  and  the  third  degree  burns  by  more  or  less  destruction 
of  the  skin,  followed  by  ulceration  and  sloughing  off.  Third  de- 
gree burns  should  always  receive  the  attention  of  a  physician. 
Electric  burns  are  usually  of  this  class. 

The  first  aid  treatment  consists  of  the  exclusion  of  air  and 
the  avoidance  of  infection.  Clothing  around  the  burned  area 
should  be  ripped  off  or  cut  away.  One  of  the  best  applications 
is  carron  oil  containing  three  per  cent  carbolic.  Carron  oil  is 
a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  linseed  oil  and  lime  water,  well 
shaken  up  together.  To  make  lime  water  put  a  piece  of  fresh 
unslacked  lime  into  a  pint  of  cold  water;  shake  up  a  few  times, 
let  settle,  and  pour  off  the  clear  liquid  or  filter.  It  would  be  well 
to  keep  a  large  sized  bottle  of  this  mixture  on  hand  in  a  conven- 
ient place  where  burning  accidents  are  liable  to  occur.  This 
dressing  should  be  poured  over  the  burn  and  a  light  bandage  of 
clean,  preferably  sterile,  cloth,  placed  over  it  to  hold  it  in  place. 
In  less  severe  burns  a  thin  paste  of  bicarbonate  of  soda  (baking, 
not  washing  soda)  and  water  makes  a  soothing  and  effective  ap- 
plication. Ordinary  vaseline,  carbolized  vaseline,  olive  oil,  cas- 
tor oil,  fresh  lard  or  cream  are  also  good,  but  one  should  not  use 
sticky,  pasty  preparations  like  flour  and  water,  for  these  are 
hard  to  wash  off  and  keep  clean.  In  case  of  extensive  and  severe 
burns,  it  is  sometimes  advisable  to  immerse  the  patient's  whole 
body  in  a  bath  at  a  temperature  of  a  hundred  degrees  fahren- 
heit. 

We  might  devote  further  time  to  the  discussion  of  other 
matters  such  as  the  treatment  of  broken  limbs,  the  use  of  vari- 
ous dressings  and  bandages,  the  method  of  transporting  injured 
persons;  but,  as  these  are  best  made  clear  by  concrete  demon- 
strations, we  wi-11  content  ourselves  here  by  emphasizing  the 
principle  underlying  such  first  aid  treatment  which  is  that  of  so 
holding  and  protecting  the  injured  parts  that  the  movements  of 
the  patient  or  of  those  handling  him  cause  him  as  little  pain  as 
possible  and  do  not  make  his  injuries  worse. 


CHAIRMAN  : 

The  next  address  is  by  Mr.  C.  V.  Jenkins,  Business  Manager 
of  the  Nevada  Consolidated  Copper  Company  and  allied  inter- 
ests in  White  Pine  County,  Nevada. 


130  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY 

BY 

C.  V.  JENKINS 

As  has  been  ably  demonstrated  by  the  many  excellent  ad- 
dresses made  and  papers  read  before  your  Safety  Conference, 
the  Science  of  Safety  First,  and  I  think  the  movement  has  ad- 
vanced to  the  dignity  of  a  science,  is  composed  of  or  divided  into 
two  important  principal  branches. 

The  first  pertains  to  mechanical  safeguards,  and  the  pre- 
vention of  industrial  accidents  by  means  of  mechanical  safety 
appliances,  safeguards  and  devices  and  the  protection  of  life  and 
property  by  the  adoption  of  safe  and  efficient  methods,  ways  and 
means.  This  all-important  branch  of  the  science  has  had  prac- 
tical application  in  all  of  the  large  industries  throughout  the 
world  with  the  result  that  disabling  accidents  have  been  reduced, 
not  only  in  number  but  in  the  seriousness  of  resulting  personal 
injuries.  So  much  has  been  accomplished  in  this  direction  how- 
ever, and  statistics  will  show  from  now  on,  that  we  have  almost 
reached  the  limit  beyond  which  slow  progress  is  made. 

This  first  branch  of  the  service  has  to  do  with  the  duty  the 
employer  owes  to  his  employees.  The  second  branch  has  to  do 
with  the  duty  the  employee  owes  not  only  to  his  employer  but  to 
himself. 

The  importance  of  this  all-important  feature  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. It  is  devoted  to  the  education  of  the  workman  in 
ways  of  safety  to  the  general  dissemination  of  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  cause  of  accidents  and  to  the  study  of  the  problems 
of  how  to  enlist  the  active  support  and  efficient  co-operation  of 
employees  in  promoting  safety.  Authoritative  statistics  prove 
that  over  70  per  cent,  of  the  industrial  accidents  to-day  are  due 
to  the  carelessness  of  the  employees. 

Federal  and  State  laws  have  been  enacted  forcing  up'on  the 
employer  the  adoption  of  safeguards,  safe  methods  and  safe  con- 
duct of  hazardous  occupations,  and  as  a  general  rule  the  em- 
ployer has  been  quick  to  respond  not  only  to  the  letter  but  to  the 
spirit  of  such  laws.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  working- 
man  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  progress  being  made  in  this  hu- 
mane movement.  "Compulsory  Education"  cannot  be  applied, 
and  we  have  no  laws  compelling  workmen  to  observe  rules  of 
safety  in  the  avoidance  of  the  dangers  and  and  hazards  incident 
to  his  occupation.  The  problem  has  therefore  resolved  itself 
into  one  of  means  and  intelligently  directed  effort  to  educate 
workmen  and  force  upon  them  the  necessity  of  individual,  active 
interest  in  this  now  world-wide  movement.  Since,  as  I  have 
said,  he  cannot  be  compelled  by  law  or  otherwise  to  practice  safe- 
ty in  his  work,  the  duties  of  the  employer  are  enlarged  and  he  is 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  131 

burdened  with  the  responsibility  of  trying  to  persuade  his  em- 
ployees that  their  own  legitimate  self  interest  demands  that  they 
co-operate  in  this  effort  to  secure  efficient  carefulness. 

In  the  operations  of  the  Nevada  Consolidated  Company 
every  effort  has  been  made  to  provide  and  maintain  mechanical 
safeguards.  In  this  work  of  safety  our  field  of  operations  is 
extensive,  comprising  as  it  does  three  or  four  of  the  more  haz- 
ardous occupations.  At  our  Veteran  mine  we  employ  on  an 
average  300  men  daily  in  underground  or  deep-level  mining  and 
at  Copper  Flat  there  are  about  650  men  engaged  regularly  in 
steam  shovel  surface  or  open-pit  mining,  and  at  our  reduction 
works  at  McGill  about  1500  men  are  employed  day  in  and  day 
out.  The  difference  in  degree  as  well  as  in  the  nature  of  the 
risks  and  hazards  of  the  various  occupations  involved  makes  it 
necessary  not  only  to  employ  methods  of  mechanical  safeguards 
peculiar  to  each,  but  makes  it  necessary  in  our  efforts  to  preach 
safety  to  try  to  reach  men  whose  trend  of  thought  is  necessarily 
and  naturally  influenced  by  their  respective  vocations. 

We  have  kept  and  maintained  a  fairly  accurate  and  compre- 
hensive record  of  mine  and  works  accidents  which  has  proven  of 
great  value  and  assistance  in  our  efforts  to  prevent  preventable 
accidents.  In  the  advancement  of  our  endeavors  to  instruct  our 
employees  in  accident  prevention,  and  that  they  might  have  the 
benefit  of  this  record,  a  monthly  bulletin  is  published  and  cir- 
culated by  our  companies.  In  this  bulletin  we  try  to  set  out  all 
accidents  and  try  to  show  how  many  of  them  could  be  avoided. 

The  endeavor  has  been  made  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  our 
employees  and  we  have  made  it  known  that  ideas  and  sugges- 
tions from  individual  workmen  are  welcomed.  Many  of  our 
safety  methods  are  adopted  from  suggestions  made  by  em- 
ployees. 

The  task  of  securing  the  live  interest  and  co-operation  of 
employees  is  one  with  which  each  individual  employer  must  cope. 
Difference  in  men,  in  conditions,  in  the  nature  of  the  hazards  of 
an  occupation,  and  in  environment,  gives  to  each  employee  an 
individual  problem.  As  1  have  said,  we  have  tried  to  encourage 
our  boys  to  become  enthused  with  our  interest  by  the  publica- 
tion of  our  monthly  comparative  record  of  accidents.  We  issue 
this  monthly,  not  only  in  order  to  keep  all  employees  up  to  date 
in  what  has  been  done,  but  to  keep  the  movement  stirring.  Like 
the  keen  and  intelligent  politician  whose  belief  in  the  benefits  of 
advertising  caused  him  to  urge  upon  his  friends  the  idea  of  talk- 
ing about  him.  He  urged  his  friends  to  "speak  well  of  me  if 
you  can.  Speak  ill  of  me  if  you  must,  but  for  God's  sake,  talk 
about  me."So  with  our  efforts  to  talk  Safety  First,  we  issue  our 
monthly  record  and  keep  it  in  the  minds  and  thoughts  of  every- 
one in  the  plant  in  the  hope  that  it  will  do  some  good.  And  I  feel 
safe  in  saying  that  we  have  accomplished  a  great  deal  of  good  in 
the  direction  of  thought  and  effort  in  the  ways  of  safety  and  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  Safety  Habit. 


132  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

And  in  this  effort  to  educate  men  we  are  encouraged  in  the 
results  obtained  not  only  among  our  intelligent  Americans  and 
Americanized  workmen,  but  among  our  foreigners.  It  is  true 
that  because  of  necessity  we  employ  about  an  equal  number  of 
each  of  English  speaking  and  non-English  speaking,  workmen. 

The  statistics,  compiled  from  our  records,  and  which  Pro- 
fessor Scrugham  has  been  kind  enough  to  illumine  and  throw 
upon  this  screen,  will  show  that  in  the  last  half  of  the  past  year 
through  and  by  means  of  our  bulletin  we  have  secured  a  greater 
percentage  of  reduction  of  disabling  accidents  in  the  ranks  of 
our  foreign  laborers.  It  is  true  they  are  often  illiterate,  ignor- 
ant and  unaccustomed  to  thinking — but  their  ignorance  is  in  no 
sense  as  dense  as  the  fog  that  puzzled  the  ancient  Egyptian,  and 
they  can  be  led  and  pursuaded  into  ways  of  safety.  The  prob- 
lem of  educating  these  foreign  born  workmen  is  however,  a 
grave  one,  and  one  that  will  become  more  and  more  difficult  to 
us  here  in  the  West.  With  the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal 
they  will  come  to  us  in  increasing  numbers.  We  cannot  throw 
Wide  open  the  gates  of  entrance  and  bid  these  foreigners  wel- 
come and  then  expect  to  enact  laws  that  will  prevent  them  from 
finding  work  and  earning  an  honest  livelihood.  They  may  not 
hope  at  first  to  find  employment  in  occupations  demanding  skill, 
intelligence  and  efficiency,  but  in  whatever  work  they  engage,  it 
will  be  the  duty  of  the  employer  to  try  to  protect  them  from  acci- 
dental personal  injuries.  And  I  cannot  help  but  think  and  sug- 
gest in  this  humane  work  of  educating  men  to  protect  themselves 
from  danger,  their  fellow  workmen  should  lend  their  influence 
and  support  to  the  employer.  And  basing  the  statement  upon 
experience,  and  congratulating  the  men  whose  earnest,  unselfish 
interest  has  made  this  our  First  Safety  Conference  a  successful 
factor  in  this  wider  scope  of  education,  I  am  encouraged  to  be- 
lieve that  the  great  majority  of  of  intelligent  English  speaking 
workmen  throughout  the  State  will  soon  be  working  heart  and 
soul  with  the  employers  in  a  far-reaching  and  successful  Safety 
First  campaign. 

But  one  word  in  conclusion — 1  would  warn  the  employer 
and  say  that  oratorical  glorification  of  the  cause  of  safety  will 
not  atone  for  the  failure  to  provide  protection  for  his  workmen ; 
and  to  the  workman  I  would  say,  that  a  superficial  knowledge  of 
the  empirical  rules  and  formulas  of  Safety  will  not  protect  an 
employee  who  fails  in  the  daily  practice  and  consistent  observ- 
ance of  the  established  rules  and  regulations  of  Safety  First. 


CHAIRMAN  : 

The  next  paper  is  by  Mr.  Lindsay  Duncan,  of  the  Nevada 
Consolidated  Copper  Company. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  133 


ACCIDENT  PREVENTION  AT  THE  NEVADA 
CONSOLIDATED 

BY 

LINDSAY  DUNCAN 

Accident  prevention  in  a  large  industrial  plant  is  a  business 
by  itself  and  requires  for  its  successful  prosecution  as  much 
care,  forethought,  and  energy  as  would  be  required  by  any  other 
department. 

The  Nevada  Consolidated  has  attacked  the  problem  vigor- 
ously and  spared  neither  time  nor  money  in  its  effort  to  effect  a 
material  reduction  in  the  tale  of  death  and  suffering  which  has 
been  the  inevitable  accompaniment  of  modern  industry.  The 
first  step  was  to  obtain  accurate  data  of  the  accidents,  and  this 
was  done  by  requiring  each  foreman  to  file  a  report  of  every  ac- 
cident however  trivial,  answering  the  three  questions : 

(1)  What  happened?  (2)  How  did  it  happen? 
(3)  Could  it  have  been  prevented?  These  reports  were  stud- 
ied and  an  earnest  effort  was  made  to  prevent  the  recurrence 
of  the  same  type  of  accident. 

One  difficulty  which  arose  was  that  of  meeting  new  condi- 
tions The  metallurgy  of  copper  has  advanced  rapidly  during 
the  last  few  years,  and  practice  at  McGill  has  kept  well  abreast 
of  modern  methods,  with  the  result  that  processes  have  changed 
greatly  during  the  past  six  years  and  new  types  of  accidents 
have  arisen,  requiring  new  safety  devices.  Thus  the  huge  new 
basic  converters,  each  of  which  can  blow  to  blister  copper  200 
tons  of  matte  in  a  day,  have  developed  possibilities  for  accidents 
which  did  not  exist  in  the  smaller  converters,  and  have  necessi- 
tated a  whole  new  line  of  safety  appliances. 

UNDERGROUND  RISKS. 

In  taking  up  briefly  the  various  methods  of  safeguarding 
our  employees,  I  will  describe  a  few  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
work  in  each  department.  In  the  Veteran  mine  a  top-slicing 
system  is  used  whereby  the  ore  is  taken  from  the  top  of  the 
deposit,  dumped  down  raises  into  ore-bins  on  the  main  haulage 
level  at  the  bottom  of  the  ore  body,  then  trammed  to  the  foot  of 
the  shaft,  where  it  is  elevated  in  five-ton  skips  to  the  surface. 
Signs  marked  Tire  Escape',  with  an  arrow  pointing  the  direc- 
tion of  travel,  are  placed  underneath  an  electric  light  at  all  cross 
entries.  At  the  mouth  of  the  drift  leading  to  the  fire  escape  it- 
self, a  large  red  light  is  placed.  The  fire  exist  is  downcast, 
while  the  main  shaft  is  upcast.  In  the  fire  exit  are  rest  plat- 
forms every  eighteen  feet,  on  which  four  or  five  men  can  stand 
at  one  time.  Fire  drill  is  held  every  two  weeks,  when  all  the 
new  miners  are  required  to  use  the  fire  exit  in  leaving  the  mine. 


134  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

Three  complete  Draeger  rescue  outfits  are  kept  at  the  head- 
frame  and  a  selected  body  of  men  are  trained  in  their  use.  A 
man  equipped  with  one  of  these  helmets  can  travel  and  work  in 
a  poisonous  atmosphere  for  a  long  period  of  time.  Their  use 
and  availability  in  the  case  of  a  mine  fire  would  doubtless  mean 
the  saving  of  lives  which  would  otherwise  be  lost. 

The  cage  in  the  main  Veteran  shaft  is,  of  course,  equipped 
with  safety  dogs ;  but  in  order  to  be  sure  that  the  safety  devices 
are  operative ;  once  a  week  the  safety  devices  are  tried,  to  prove 
conclusively  that  everything  is  in  working  order. 

RISKS  IN  OPEN  PIT  WORK. 

Most  of  the  Nevada  Consolidated  ore  is  mined  by  steam 
shovels  at  Copper  Flat.  The  risks  incidental  to  mining  of  this 
nature  fall  readily  into  four  classes :  ( 1 )  those  due  to  the  op- 
eration of  steam  shovels  and  churn  drills;  (2)  those  due  to  blast- 
ing and  handling  of  explosives;  (3)  those  due  to  transportation 
of  ore  and  over-burden;  and  (4)  shop  accidents. 

Most  of  the  accidents  on  the  shovels  and  drills  have  been 
due  to  men  getting  caught  in  the  machinery.  To  prevent  this, 
all  gears,  on  both  the  shovels  and  drills,  have  been  housed.  On 
the  shovels,  the  crowding  and  swinging  engines  are  completely 
enclosed,  and  also  the  moving  parts  of  the  main  engine.  The 
crane-man's  seat  has  been  changed  from  underneath  the  boom 
to  the  bull-wheel,  so  that  now  there  is  no  chance  for  a  chain  to 
strike  him  should  it  break ;  and  the  steam  pipe  to  the  crowding 
engine  is  run  inside  the  boom  and  strongly  bracketed  to  prevent 
its  being  jarred  loose  and  scalding  him.  Both  drills  and  steam 
shovels  are  well  provided  with  steps  and  grab  irons,  which  are 
always  kept  in  good  repair  and  are  at  once  replaced  when  dam- 
aged. The  shovels  and  drills  are  worked  two  shifts,  and  be- 
tween shifts  there  is  a  fireman  on  duty  at  each  machine.  This 
effectually  prevents  malicious  or  irresponsible  persons  from  de- 
ranging or  starting  the  mechanism.  In  case  of  serious  accident 
the  locomotive  crane,  which  is  under  steam  twenty-four  hours  of 
the  day,  can  start  at  once  for  a  wreck  and  quickly  lift  cars,  tim- 
ber, rocks,  or  whatever  might  be  upon  an  injured  man. 

Powder  handling  and  blasts  have  been  a  prolific  source  of 
injury.  The  Company  has  appreciated  this  and  in  the  booklet 
of  rules,  issued  to  each  employee  of  its  mining  department,  six- 
teen out  of  the  sixty-eight  paragraphs  are  devoted  to  shops, 
shovels  and  drills;  eighteen  to  train  service;  and  thirty-four  to 
blasting,  the  use  of  explosives,  and  warning  signals  for  blasts. 
In  general  these  regulations  lay  down  the  approved  methods  of 
blasting  and  handling  of  explosives  and  counsel  safety  in  every 
line. 

Each  shovel  and  each  drill  is  equipped  with  a  high-grade 
whistle,  one  of  a  different  tone  being  placed  on  each  machine. 
These  whistles  are  inspected  and  kept  up  the  same  as  a  piece  of 
machinery,  Loading,  firing  and  handling  explosives,  is  done  by 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  135 

certain  particular  employees  who  are  known  as  'powder  men' 
and  wear  distinguishing  badges.  No  others  are  permitted  to 
officiate,  and  any  unauthorized  person  handling  powder  would 
be  at  once  discharged  from  the  Company's  service. 

Safety  precautions  for  the  train  service  at  the  mines  and 
also  at  the  smelter,  are  patterned  very  closely  after  standard 
switching  practice.  Equipment  is  carefully  inspected  and 
promptly  repaired;  all  accidents  to  equipment,  however  trivial, 
are  reported  and  investigated;  approved  danger  signals  and 
semaphores  are  installed,  and  as  far  as  possible  only  experienced 
men  are  employed. 

SURFACE  WORK. 

Shop  accidents  are  guarded  against  (1)  by  making  the  ma- 
chinery as  nearly  fool-proof  as  possible  and  then  preaching  Cau- 
tion— First,  Last,  and  Always.  By  way  of  illustration,  all  em- 
ery wheels  are  cased,  circular  saws  have  protectors,  all  gears 
are  housed,  safety  set-screws  are  used  throughout,  goggles  are 
provided  for  workmen  whose  eyes  are  exposed,  motors  and 
switches  are  fenced  in,  etc. 

Unloading  the  ore  on  the  concentrator  trestle  has  always 
been  a  prolific  source  of  accidents.  Ore  is  received  in  55-ton 
hopper-bottomed  steel  cars,  running  in  trains  of  twenty-one  or 
twenty-two  cars  each,  as  many  as  ten  trains  a  day  arriving  from 
the  mines.  The  ore  as  loaded  by  steam  shovels  is  frequently  in 
lumps  several  feet  in  diameter  and  in  the  winter  season  an  en- 
tire car  is  sometimes  frozen  into  a  solid  mass.  The  ore  in  fully 
two-thirds  of  the  cars  has  to  be  blasted,  and  this  is  done  by  a 
special  crew  carefully  instructed  in  its  duties  and  acting  under 
a  definite  set  of  rules  for  the  handling  of  explosives. 

The  tops  of  the  bins  are  protected  by  heavy  iron  gratings 
which  effectively  prevent  any  one  from  falling  in  while  the  ore 
is  being  discharged.  Before  the  gratings  were  installed  several 
workmen  were  injured,  both  by  falling  into  the  bins  and  going 
to  sleep  and  then  forgetting  to  wake  up  before  ore  was  dumped. 
The  stairs,  working  platforms,  and  walk-ways  of  the  mill  are 
thoroughly  protected  by  hand-rails.  Projecting  set  screws  on 
shafting  have  been  removed,  and  no  loose  flooring  or  open  hatch- 
ways are  permitted.  In  a  plant  of  the  size  of  the  Steptoe  plant, 
these  simple  precautions  entailed  a  vast  amount  of  labor  and 
expense. 

The  shops  of  the  Company  are  very  complete  and  include  a 
pattern  shop,  foundry,  tin  shop,  garage,  paint  shop,  machine 
shop,  blacksmith  shop,  structural  shop,  pipe  shop  and  planing 
mill.  In  these  shops  about  150  men  are  employed,  a  fairly 
large  industry  in  itself.  Every  emery  wheel  has  a  heavy  steel 
plate  protector  fitted  around  it,  and  the  saws  and  planes  in  the 
wood  shop  are  similarly  protected.  Most  of  the  machines  are 
motor  driven,  and  where  belts  are  unavoidable  they  are  boxed 
in  wherever  it  would  be  possible  for  a  'workman  to  come  in  con- 


136  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

tact  with  one.  Drip  pans  are  provided  to  catch  the  oil  from 
machines  so  that  there  can  be  no  slippery  places  to  invite  falls. 
Metal  cans  with  self-closing  lids  are  conveniently  placed  to  re- 
ceive oily  waste.  Several  chemical  fire-extinguishers  of  ap- 
proved type  are  in  each  building,  and  on  several  occasions  incip- 
ient fires  have  been  extinguished  by  promptly  using  them. 

The  power  plant  is  rated  at  10,000  hp.  and  is  actually  gen- 
erating an  average  of  7000  hp.,  which  is  an  unusually  large  out- 
put for  a  plant  of  this  rating.  In  fact  25  to  30  per  cent,  is  the 
usual  ratio  of  output  to  capacity,  and  the  70  per  cent,  output  at 
McGill  is  an  indication  that  the  power  plant  is  worked  well  up 
to  capacity.  The  plant  consists  of  nine  direct  connected  engines 
and  eighteen  water-tube  boilers;  ten  of  the  boilers  are  in  the 
flues  of  the  reverberatory  smelting  furnaces  and  utilize  the 
waste  heat  of  the  gases. 

The  power  house  is  the  original  home  of  the  hand-rail  in 
McGill,  and  is  encountered  on  all  sides.  Thed  switchboard  is 
surrounded  by  a  railing  within  which  no  one  is  permitted  except 
the  operator.  The  metal  steps  leading  to  the  main  engine  bear- 
ings are  not  only  supplied  with  hand-rails  but  the  treads  are  also 
of  rubber  studded  with  lead.  This  is  the  same  material  which 
has  been  adopted  by  the  Pullman  Car  Co.  as  a  standard  for  the 
car  steps.  The  stair  and  hand-rail  habit  has  percolated  thor- 
oughly through  the  entire  power  plant;  fly  wheels,  generators, 
vacuum  pumps,  condensers,  economizers,  feed-water  heaters,  and 
boilers  are  all  so  equipped. 

The  steam  lines  are  all  strongly  anchored  and  well  support- 
ed and  a  leaky  steam  joint  is  not  tolerated.  Superneated  steam 
at  high  pressure  is  hard  to  handle  and  as  a  result  no  liberties  are 
taken  with  it. 

DANGER  SIGNALS. 

In  case  of  men  working  on  an  electric  line,  the  switch  is 
opened  and  a  sign,  "Danger:  Men  are  working  on  this  line," 
is  hung  on  the  open  switch.  The  switch  cannot  be  closed  until 
the  man  who  has  been  working  on  the  line,  and  no  one  else,  re- 
moves the  sign. 

The  automatic  stokers  have  been  a  fruitful  source  of  injury 
to  the  fire-room  labor.  Only  recently  one  of  the  ash-wheelers, 
in  an  idle  moment,  availed  himself  of  the  temporary  absence  of 
the  fireman  and  essayed  to  start  one  of  the  stokers  'to  see  what 
would  happen/  He  not  only  saw  what  happened,  but  felt  one  of 
his  fingers  depart. 

In  the  smelter,  sheet  iron  protectors  have  been  placed  along 
all  elevated  hot  metal  and  calcine  tracks,  to  prevent  men  passing 
underneath  from  being  burned.  All  charge  hoppers  are  pro- 
tected by  gratings;  hand-rails  are  liberally  used  and  walk-ways 
and  stairs  are  of  substantial  and  permanent  construction. 

Signs  and  warnings  in  English,  Greek,  and  Slavish  are  lib- 
erally used,  and  respirators  and  goggles  are  distributed  to  the 
workmen  whose  occupations  make  them  necessary. 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  137 

In  the  industrial  car  system,  which  is  used  to  carry  concen- 
trate from  the  mill  to  the  roaster,  calcines  from  the  roaster  to 
the  reverberatory  furnaces,  matte  from  the  furnaces  to  the  con- 
verters, and  slag  and  secondaries  from  the  converters  back  to 
the  reverberatories,  many  safety  devices  have  been  placed,  both 
on  the  cars  and  the  locomotives.  These  include  chains  to  pre- 
vent slag  pots  from  dumping  during  transmission,  grab-irons 
and  steps,  steel  running  boards,  and  wooden  treads  to  prevent 
slipping.  An  earnest  endeavor  is  made  to  keep  the  track  up  to 
modern  standard.  Manganese  steel  frogs  are  used  on  account 
of  better  wearing  qualities,  cast  iron  frog  fillers  are  used  to  pre- 
vent a  switchman  catching  his  foot  and  being  thrown  in  front  of 
the  train.  Safety  niches  have  been  placed  in  trestles  and  places 
where  the  trains  run  with  narrow  clearance  to  lessen  the  danger 
of  a  switchman  being  caught. 

The  Nevada  Consolidated  has  organized  a  regular  Safety 
Department  under  W.  H.  Droll  as  safety  engineer,  and  to  him  I 
am  indebted  for  much  of  the  information  contained  in  this  pa- 
per. The  Safety  Department  suggests  changes  and  protective 
devices,  and  in  general  makes  it  its  business  to  investigate  and 
report  on  all  accidents  which  occur,  or  which  might  occur, 
around  the  plant. 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

The  impressions  of  a  visitor  from  Nevada  who  attended  the 
Safety  Conference  under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Museum 
of  Safety,  in  New  York,  in  December,  last,  should  be  interesting. 
I  will  call  on  the  Rev.  Lloyd  B.  Thomas,  that  we  may  have  the 
benefit  of  those  impressions. 


REV.  THOMAS: 

Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  It  seems  to  me 
rather  incongruous  to  have  a  man  whose  profession  is  that  of 
preparing  people  to  die,  to  address  a  meeting  whose  declared 
purpose  is  to  prevent  people  from  dying,  at  any  rate  accident- 
ally. 

The  First  Safety  Congress  was  opened  with  prayer  and 
there  was  an  address  by  the  same  Clergyman  on  the  subject  of 
the  "Value  of  a  Man."  There  is  an  increasing  sense  of  the  value 
of  the  man,  whether  he  be  the  hunky,  or  the  wop,  or  the  high- 
priced,  brilliant  technical  expert.  All  this  is  characteristic  of 
the  Safety  First  Movement,  because  a  very  essential  element  in 
that  movement  is  recognized  as  being  the  humanitarian  one.  So 
it  is  really  no  anomaly  that  a  man  whose  profession  is  concerned 
with  theh  umanities,  with  the  broader  and  wider  welfare  of  man- 
kind, should  have  something  to  say  before  a  gathering  like  this. 

I  know  there  are  people  who  still  believe  that  the  vocation 
of  the  ministry  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  bodily  or  mental  wel- 
fare of  man,  that  it  is  concerned  solely  with  something  that  is 


138  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

known  as  soul,  or  character.  We  may  thank  God  that  this  con- 
ception is  very  rapidly  passing  out  of  the  average  mind.  The 
Safety  First  Movement  has  in  it  a  large  element  of  humanitar- 
ism,  or  to  use  a  less  hackneyed  term,  a  large  element  of  fellow- 
ship and  brotherliness.  Coming  from  the  McAlpin  Hotel  on  a 
visit  to  New  York  last  fall,  I  happened  to  see  a  sign  which  at- 
tracted my  attention,  and  I  later  picked  up  a  program  of  the 
Safety  First  Congress.  I  was  not  able  to  attend  the  whole  of 
the  conference,  but  I  attended  the  session  devoted  to  Organized 
Safety. 

I  have  been  asked  to  give  some  of  my  impressions.  The 
most  immediate  impression  in  going  into  that  gathering  was  of 
the  intense  earnestness  evidenced  and  the  deep  interest  shown 
in  this  particular  line  of  work  by  all  present.  I  heard  a  paper 
by  Dr.  McNeal  on  organized  safety.  He  began  by  saying  that 
the  United  States  was  rather  famed  in  a  great  many  walks  of 
industrial  life,  but  that  sadly  and  sorrowfully,  it  was  famed  also 
in  the  sphere  of  sacrifice  of  the  workers.  He  said  that  Ameri- 
can industrial  life  was  killing  an  army  and  injuring  more  than 
an  army  of  men  every  year,  and  if  this  condition  were  due  to  the 
greed  of  the  operators,  that  then  we  might  give  up  all  hope  of 
altering  conditions ;  but  that  in  reality  he  thought  it  was  due  to 
the  national  characteristic  of  carelessness  and  negligence;  the 
tendency  to  take  a  chance.  To  cure  that  national  defect  there 
was  necessary  first  of  all,  an  organization  for  education  begin- 
ning at  the  top.  That  is  with  the  men  who  never  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  laborer  in  their  particular  line  of  work.  It  cannot 
go  merely  to  the  superintendent  or  the  manager,  but  it  has  got 
to  go  up  to  the  board  of  directors  of  the  company.  Then  there 
must  be  a  vitalization  of  statistics. 

We  must  be  able  to  make  statistics  talk  in  spite  of  their  dry- 
ness.  We  have  no  accurate  industrial  statistics  in  the  United 
States.  We  have  got  to  go  to  other  countries  now  to  obtain 
averages,  and  such  information  in  the  different  branches  of  in- 
dustry. We  need  these  statistics  in  order  that  they  be  vitalized 
and  made  to  talk. 

We  need  them  to  educate  the  public  conscience,  to  drive  out 
of  the  public  conscience  this  tendency  toward  negligence.  We 
need  them  to  make  the  public  conscience  of  the  country  aware  of 
the  fact  that  there  are  many  industrial  accidents  which  are  pre- 
ventable and  that  the  preventable  accident  is  a  crime  which  can 
be  brought  home  directly  to  the  door  of  the  industry. 

And  then  Dr.  Neal  spoke  finally  and  briefly  of  the  institu- 
tion wrhich  is  gathering  safety  statistics;  the  clearing  house  of 
safety ;  the  conventions  of  those  interested  in  safety ;  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Safety.  I  heard  Dr.  Jackson  explain  into  what 
minute  detail  the  New  York  State  administration  is  doing  in  its 
regulation  of  industry.  I  also  heard  Mr.  John  B.  Anderson,  of 
the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  on  the  subject 
of  Commercial  Diseases, 


INDUSTRIAL  SAFETY  BULLETIN  139 

Of  the  many  motives  which  drive  men  to  action,  there  are 
two  which  stand  out  prominently  in  the  Safety  Movement. 
They  are  the  humanitarian  and  the  economic  motives.  Let  me 
point  out  a  few  results. 

There  are  twenty-four  States  in  the  Federal  Union  which 
now  have  Commissions  studying  industrial  insurance. 

There  are  twenty-two  States  which  have  some  form  of  in- 
dustrial insurance. 

There  are  nineteen  States  which  have  abrogated  the  com- 
mon law  defense  of  assumption  of  risk,  contributory  negligence 
and  the  Fellow  Servant  Act. 

When  these  things  began  to  be  brought  to  bear  then  came  an 
economic  reason  for  conducting  a  campaign  for  Safety  First. 

I  am  not  saying  that  is  the  only  underlying  motive  for  the 
development  of  this  movement,  but  it  has  had  a  marked  influence. 

These  two  motives  have  come  in  together,  and  they  have 
come  into  our  present  social  conscience  and  are  the  power  back 
of  our  present  progressiveness  and  development  along  lines  of 
human  welfare. 

The  final  impression  I  have  to  give  you  is  that  the  Safety 
Movement  is  wide-spread  and  of  most  vital  importance  to  our 
national  welfare.  It  develops  co-operation  and  understanding 
between  employer  and  employee  and  between  capital  and  labor. 

If  the  organization  of  a  chapter  of  the  National  Council 
should  grow  out  of  this  session  and  be  something  more  than  a 
fad,  it  is  going  to  carry  the  men  who  are  interested  in  this  thing 
into  spheres  which  are  very  different  from  that  of  mere  preven- 
tion of  accidents.  For  instance,  a  man  cannot  organize  his 
workers  to  prevent  accidents  without  coming  in  touch  with  their 
educational  advantages,  or  lack  of  them,  their  housing  and  their 
recreations.  A  man  cannot  be  brought  in  touch  with  with  the 
housing  and  recreation  and  educational  advantages  of  the  men 
who  work  for  him,  without  coming  into  vital  contact  with  the 
whole  wage  problem.  A  man  cannot  come  into  contact  with  the 
wage  problem  without  being  drawn  into  the  whole  question  of 
the  organization  of  labor.  This  movement  for  Safety  First  is 
humanitarian  and  it  tends  to  fellowship.  To  me  it  is  the  prom- 
ise of  the  society  that  is  to  be.  Those  who  are  engaged  in  it  are 
learning  to  realize  the  value  of  the  man  and  they  are  learning 
to  work  with  other  men.  In  other  words,  it  is  one  of  those 
promises  of  our  own  day,  of  that  society  which  is  to  be,  which 
we  describe  best  by  calling  it  "Brotherhood". 


GOVERNOR  ODDIE: 

We  thank  Reverend  Thomas  for  his  very  interesting  talk. 
Now,  as  regards  the  organization  of  the  Nevada  Chapter  of  the 
National  Council  for  Industrial  Safety,  Mr.  Mullin  has  some- 
thing to  say  about  it,  and  Mr.  C.  W.  Whitney  has  a  letter  from 
the  National  Council  which  we  will  ask  him  to  read. 


140  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEVADA 

MR.  WHITNEY: 

I  have  a  letter  written  to  Mr.  Mullin  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
National  Council  for  Industrial  Safety.  The  question  has  come 
up  as  to  a  permanent  organization  in  Nevada,  so  as  to  carry  on 
the  good  work  started  by  this  Conference.  There  is  a  national 
body  organized  for  this  work  and  the  question  has  come  up  as  to 
whether  or  not  it  will  be  advisable  to  organize  in  this  State,  a 
body  which  will  co-operate  with  the  National  Association.  This 
letter  states  briefly  the  advantages  which  would  grow  from  such 
a  local  organization. 


MR.  J.  J.  MULLIN: 

Inasmuch  as  the  hour  is  growing  late,  and  there  is  not  suffi- 
cient time  for  the  discussion  of  the  question  of  the  organization 
of  a  Nevada  Chapter  of  the  National  Council  for  Industrial 
Safety,  I  offer  the  following  motion : 

'That  it  be  the  sense  of  this  Conference  that  a  permanent 
Industrial  Safety  Organization  be  formed;  that  the  matter  of 
the  formation  of  such  a  permanent  organization  be  referred  to 
a  committee  of  nine,  the  Governor  of  this  State  to  be  Chairman 
of  said  committee  and  the  other  eight  members  to  be  selected  by 
the  Governor,  and  the  report  of  said  committee's  labors  to  be 
made  public  through  the  press  of  Nevada/' 

The  motion  was  duly  seconded  and  unanimously  adopted. 

The  Conference  adjourned. 


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